Commentary: Gerrymanders, judges and an alley-oop: A look at the midterm fight for control of Congress

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Today, we discuss political jockeying, litigation and Hail Mary passes.There’s so much going on these days ...Indeed.Between the war with Iran, the World Cup and President Trump slapping his filigreed (emphasis greed) name on everything in sight, I’ve completely lost track of the fight for control of Congress.Well, now that the California gubernatorial primary is in the rear view, let’s catch up.The midterm election is not until November, of course.

But a fierce political competition, aimed at skewing the result, has been underway since last summer.It started in Texas, where Trump strong-armed Republican lawmakers into redrawing their congressional map in hopes of boosting the GOP’s chances of keeping control of the House.That led California voters to pass an eye-for-an-eye measure aimed at boosting Democratic prospects.Other states joined the skirmishing, capped by Virginia, where voters in April approved new political lines aimed at netting Democrats as many as four additional seats.For a short time, it looked as though Trump’s move had backfired and Democrats might actually come out ahead, at least on paper, by a seat or two.Democrat Xavier Becerra starts out with a huge advantage over Republican Steve Hilton.

How will they use the next five months? To discuss their policy differences? Or just talk about Trump?And then?And then the courts stepped in.In a 4-3 decision in May, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the state’s new congressional map, ruling that the Democratic-run legislature had violated procedural requirements when it placed the constitutional measure on the ballot.But the more significant legal decision came a week prior, when the U.S.Supreme Court nullified a major part of the federal Voting Rights Act, freeing several Southern states to hastily redraw a number of congressional districts to Republicans’ advantage.What’s the bottom line?It loo...