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Georgia's newest congressional district will be based in the northeast corner of the state.
The proposed congressional map unveiled by state lawmakers on Monday also redrew political boundaries for the 13 existing U.S. House districts.
The new U.S. House district will be anchored by Hall County — home to Gov. Nathan Deal.
The proposed map divides the northernmost part of the state into two side-by-side congressional districts.
While the Northeast district is the subject of much speculation, Republicans leaders say northwest Georgia residents have long asked for their own district.
Rep. Roger Lane chairs the House redistricting committee. The Darien Republican says many map changes come directly from public input.
“We divided the North into northwest and northeast congressional districts, which is traditional," Lane said. "Particularly the folks in Northwest Georgia had attended a lot of the public meetings up in that area, and had requested that they be put together as one district.”
Much of the state’s recent growth has come from several North Georgia counties that lean Republican.
Tom Crawford edits the Georgia Report. He says the new district will most likely elect a Republican. That would further solidify the GOP’s hold on Georgia’s congressional delegation.
“Coupled with the changes in other parts of the state, what you will probably come up with is a Congressional Delegation made up of ten Republicans and four Democrats after the 2012 election,” he said.
The state will have 14 congressional districts for the first time in its history. It added 1.5 million people last decade.
If lawmakers approve the map, ten of the state’s congressional districts will include some part of metro Atlanta.
U.S. Rep. John Barrow, the last remaining white Democrat in the House from the Deep South, will see his district shift dramatically. Barrow is based in Savannah, which would no longer be in his district under the proposed map.
A vote on the draft map could come as early as Thursday. Lawmakers have already approved state House and Senate maps.
Click here to see the new Congressional district map.
Tags: John Barrow, redistricting, congressional maps, congressional representation