Republican State Leadership Committee Launches REDMAP Gerrymandering Project

The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) launches REDMAP (Redistricting Majority Project), a strategic initiative to gain control of state legislatures before the 2011 redistricting cycle following the 2010 Census. The project represents an unprecedented systematic approach to gerrymandering designed to secure Republican congressional majorities for the next decade.

Strategy and Objectives

REDMAP targets 107 state legislative races across 16 key states, including swing states Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida. The strategy, articulated by RSLC chair Ed Gillespie to donors, calls for a $30 million investment to “fully control or affect the drawing of 9 new congressional districts.” Conservative strategist Karl Rove publicly outlines the plan in the Wall Street Journal under the principle: “He who controls redistricting can control Congress.”

The timing is strategic—states redraw electoral maps every ten years following the Census, and control of state legislatures in 2010 would give Republicans control of redistricting in 2011. The RSLC identifies that flipping just a handful of state legislative seats in key states could shift control of entire legislative chambers, enabling complete control of the redistricting process.

Implementation and Scale

REDMAP represents a shift from traditional ad-hoc redistricting efforts to a coordinated national strategy. The project focuses on states where Republicans can gain trifecta control (governor and both legislative chambers) or at least sufficient legislative power to control or heavily influence redistricting. The $30 million investment far exceeds typical state legislative campaign spending, bringing congressional-level resources to state races that typically operate on budgets of tens of thousands of dollars.

Significance

REDMAP marks the weaponization of redistricting as a systematic tool for partisan advantage. Unlike previous redistricting efforts that occurred behind closed doors with less coordination, REDMAP represents a coordinated national strategy to manipulate electoral maps for partisan gain. The project acknowledges that by strategically investing in state legislative races during a Census year, Republicans can engineer congressional control regardless of voter preferences in future elections.

The initiative capitalizes on the Great Recession’s slow recovery and unpopularity of President Obama to target state-level races that typically receive less voter attention. By focusing resources at the state level, REDMAP aims to create a “Republican firewall” that would insulate the party from future electoral defeats by making Democratic congressional majorities mathematically difficult or impossible even when Democrats win more votes.

This represents a fundamental shift in American electoral politics, transforming redistricting from a state-level process into a coordinated national strategy to entrench partisan control through manipulation of district boundaries. The project’s architects publicly document their strategy, demonstrating confidence that the systematic gerrymandering would be legally permissible and politically sustainable.