THE BIG IDEA: Michigan Republicans in 2011 had a clear mission: to ensure GOP majorities by drawing partisan election maps. Emails recently discovered in a lawsuit brought in part by a group of Democratic voters, which alleges the maps Republicans drew were unconstitutional, revealed startling details of their attempts to minimize Democratic power in the purple state. One GOP staffer boasted about cramming “Dem garbage” into four of the five congressional districts that Democrats control today. Another email compared the shape of one district to an obscene gesture. “Perfect. It’s giving the finger to Sandy Levin,” the author wrote, referring to the longtime Democratic congressman. “I love it.”
The gambit appears to have worked: Republicans today maintain a tight grasp on virtually all levers of power in the state. Though President Trump carried the Wolverine State by only 0.2 percent in 2016, Michigan Republicans enjoy a 9-to-5 advantage in Congress and a 63-to-47 advantage in the state House.
