A healthy degree of party unity among Democrats and Republicans has deteriorated into bitter partisan warfare.

Democrats do best in urban centers, Republicans in outer suburbs and rural areas.

We are crossing party lines here. Lovelace appeals to both Republicans and Democrats.

There's always twenty or thirty Republicans or twenty or thirty Democrats that sort of move away from the party line, so you've got to make sure that they are all happy. It's gonna be real tough, it's gonna be real tough.

Redistricting is a deeply political process, with incumbents actively seeking to minimize the risk to themselves (via bipartisan gerrymanders) or to gain additional seats for their party (via partisan gerrymanders).

Of course, the republicans are going to vote with their party line, but the democrats couldn't find a good reason not to vote for him. After the hearings, what good reason would a person have to vote against the guy?