SOUTHERN COLORADO — Recent census bureau data is revealing how much our state has grown over the past decade.
Six states will gain seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, including Colorado, making this the eighth seat for our state. Florida, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon will also gain one seat each, while Texas will gain two.
Experts say it's no surprise we've gained another seat, in fact it was expected. The bulk of the population growth happened in the Denver area. That would usually give democrats the edge when drawing new political districts.
Instead the new citizens’ redistricting commission consists of four democrats, four republicans and four unaffiliated citizens, and is designed to make the process less partisan.
"The allocation of a new seat to the state of Colorado, is potentially very important and could produce some of those meaningful benefits to the state either, economically or in terms of policy," said Michael Berry, Associate Professor of Political Science, at the University of Denver. "We may see more competitive general elections in the state."
Colorado will gain that additional seat in congress starting in 2023, but we still don't know where the new congressional district will be just yet.
An independent commission is taking input across Colorado, to help draw up the state's new congressional boundaries.
