The experts at the Princeton University Gerrymander Project gave Maryland Democrats a failing grade for their newly-proposed gerrymandered Congressional maps, while maps to be submitted to the legislature by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan received an “A” grade for fairness.
According to the Princeton researchers, all four Congressional maps submitted by Maryland Democrats for consideration “significantly favor” Democrats and would likely result in either seven or eight Democrats representing Maryland in Congress, compared to just one or zero Republicans. The state voted for President Joe Biden by a 65-32 margin in 2020, but Hogan was re-elected as Governor in 2018 by a vote of 55%-43%.
The Democrats’ maps received a grade of “F” for partisan fairness, “C” for competitiveness and “F” for geographic features. By contrast, two maps that will be submitted by Hogan received grades of “A” for partisan fairness, “C” for competitiveness and “C” for geographic features. Those maps would most likely result in a 6-2 advantage for Democrats at the Congressional level and a 30-17 advantage for Democrats in the State Senate, the Princeton experts said.