Christie, Pompeo named co-chairs of GOP redistricting group

The group charged with coordinating the GOP’s redistricting strategy has tapped former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) as its national co-chairs.

The National Republican Redistricting Trust (NRRT) also announced on Thursday that longtime GOP strategist Karl Rove will serve as a senior adviser. Both Christie and Pompeo are seen as potential candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

“When Democrats don’t win at the ballot box, there is no legal strategy they won’t try in order to litigate their way into power,” NRRT President and Executive Director Adam Kincaid said in a statement. “We need Republicans like Sec. Pompeo and Governor Christie who will defend our country and our party against the Democrats’ attempted nationwide judicial power grab.”

The appointments come as both parties prepare for a bruising battle over the decennial redistricting process. Democrats are clinging to a razor-thin majority in the House, and Republicans will likely need to flip only about a half-dozen seats to gain control of the lower chamber.

With several states with GOP-controlled legislatures set to add new seats in next year’s midterm elections, it’s possible that Republicans could flip control of the House through reapportionment alone. 

Both parties have warned that the other will seek to leverage political power and the courts to gain an advantage in the redistricting. In 2017, former Attorney General Eric Holder launched the National Democratic Redistricting Committee to coordinate Democrats’ efforts.

The redistricting process is often fraught with legal challenges. Since the last time congressional districts were redrawn in 2010, courts have tossed out GOP-drawn maps in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas because of gerrymandering. 

Republicans, meanwhile, have accused Democrats in states like New York and Illinois of gerrymandering as well. In a statement, Rove cast the NRRT’s work as an effort to push back against Democratic attempts to draw favorable maps. 

“[Former President] Obama and Holder claim to oppose ‘extreme partisan gerrymandering,’ but the truth is they support the far-left rigging the maps to ensure Democratic control,” Rove said. “Their actions and inaction are at the height of hypocrisy and Republicans must organize and fund our efforts to stop them.”