Trading Security for Seats: Strategic Considerations in the Redistricting Process

In this paper, we examine redistricting in the 1982 House elections, paying particular attention to the strategic elements of redistricting. We argue that past reliance on aggregate approaches has hindered district-level studies of strategic processes and effects. To overcome this problem, we propose a method that uses individual districts as the unit of analysis. After showing how our district-level approach works, we apply it to the 1982 House elections and demonstrate its relevance for the strategic dimensions of redistricting. Leaders appeared to trade security for seats in their redistricting decisions; these tradeoffs have important consequences for future elections.