Wicker Alleges Congressional Redistricting Favors Yarmuth, Democrats

Frustrated with the redistricting process in Frankfort, Republican congressional candidate Brooks Wicker alleges the plan threatens the viability of the Jefferson County GOP and is calling on supporters to lobby state lawmakers.The Louisville accountant is challenging Democratic incumbent John Yarmuth, who is seeking his fourth term in office representing Kentucky's 3rd congressional district, which covers most of Louisville. The Democratic-controlled House submitted a map that cuts off several GOP-leaning precincts in the city's East End. Currently, Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin among registered voters.Both parties in Frankfort are still far apart on a compromise as the maps have gone into a bi-partisan conference committee.Wicker says the map in the General Assembly is reshaping the district to heavily favor Yarmuth and the Democratic Party over the next decade."Allowing the Kentucky Democratic Party’s hold on the 3rd District to tighten—effectively ceding Democrats the largest metropolitan center in the state and the economic engine of Kentucky—will lessen already tenuous opposition representation in the 3rd District and will also weaken the ability of the Republican Party to compete in state-wide elections for the next decade," he says. "We must fight this effort to artificially solidify Democratic power coming out of Frankfort. Elections are about citizens’ freedom to choose, not about gerrymandering stunts like this."