John,
I wanted to share something that's been weighing on my mind with you.
Every day, we get closer to the release of the 2020 Census data. And when that happens, it's all but inevitable that Pennsylvania will lose a congressional seat.
Republicans who control our state legislature will do absolutely everything they can to ensure that the seat that gets eliminated is occupied by a Democrat. In fact, the research group Represent.us just rated our Congressional district's risk of being “rigged for the next decade” as “high”.
The redistricting process is complex, but the outcomes are often transparently partisan -- such that a couple years ago, our state Supreme Court found the GOP had outrageously stacked the deck to make Democratic victories all but impossible.
There's no reason to think they won't try the same thing again. And my team fears that I could be their prime target.
It's possible they could try to force me to compete with my own Democratic colleague, Madeleine Dean in Pennsylvania's Fourth, for a single seat -- a gerrymandering tactic known as “hijacking.” Or they might pack as many Republicans into PA-05 as possible, hoping to see me defeated with overwhelming numbers.
Either way, it is incredibly important we are prepared for whatever they throw at us. And one thing is for sure: we have the power to stop them -- both by calling out their nefarious tactics and by being on such solid organizational ground that they don't have a chance at knocking us out.
My team is organizing now to head them off. But I'll level with you -- 2022 is going to be an uphill battle. We can't fall behind on fundraising, and my team tells me we are ending the weekend $1,300 short of where we need to be, which spells trouble.
John, if Kevin McCarthy takes back the House for the Republicans next year, the Biden-Harris agenda may be as good as finished. And our district could be key to protecting our majority.
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You help make our work in this district possible, and I'm so grateful for your support.
Mary Gay
