Rep. Randy Forbes (VA-04) isn’t terribly happy about the new lines. From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
“I am confident that the Supreme Court will conclude that the overreach of these two judges is not appropriate, and that it will agree with the opinion of Judge (U.S. District Judge Robert E.) Payne that their plan is, ‘neither required, nor permitted’” Forbes said when asked to comment about the new map.
. . .
In November, lawyers for Republicans in Virginia’s congressional delegation termed “egregious” Grofman’s proposals to redraw the 4th District as he sought to fix the 3rd.“The result is predictable,” lawyers for the GOP representatives wrote. “The special master’s proposals replace the 8-3 partisan split with a 7-4 partisan split” by turning Forbes’ 4th District into an “overwhelmingly Democratic district.”
…and so options abound for Forbes at this rate. The seat is overwhelmingly Democratic at this rate… and so Forbes could opt to defend the seat. Forbes could likewise attempt to defend the western half of his old 2001 congressional district, as nearly 40% of the district knows Forbes. Alternatively — and here’s where the fun really begins — the U.S. Supreme Court could place an injunction on the lower court ruling… which would really throw this weekend’s 7th District Republican Committee meeting for a loop.
Should the latter happen, and the SCOTUS decides to go with the special master lines, the NAACP lines, or something entirely different? We could be seeing a nomination contest as late as September in some districts, folks. Nevermind the condition of RNC and DNC delegates to the convention in Cleveland.
Good times… good times…
Either way, it’s pretty clear that Forbes is mulling options at this rate. Viewed as a conservative leader in his own right, Forbes would have his pick of options ranging from representative to Virginia statewide office to U.S. Senate in 2018.
In the meantime, following the rabbit trail to its conclusion seems to be a perfectly acceptable modus operandi.
