The 'master of the modern gerrymander' promised to 'bedevil the Democrats' until his dying day, notes show
Thomas Hofeller was certainly committed.
Hofeller, who The New Yorker describes as the "master of the modern gerrymander," compiled scores of notes, spreadsheets, and emails before his death in Aug. 2018. The GOP operative was famously discreet and urged his fellow Republican strategists to keep their methods quiet, and it appears the discretion was for good reason — the unearthed files raise "new questions about whether Hofeller unconstitutionally used race data to draw North Carolina's congressional districts in 2016," writes The New Yorker.
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All of these efforts were part of a major redistricting strategy intended to strengthen Republican strongholds and make inroads in Democratic districts. His records show he had a little fun with the notion of making life hell for Democrats, too. After he was diagnosed with lung cancer and a kidney tumor, he pledged to a friend over email not to take his foot off the gerrymandering pedal just yet. "I still have time to bedevil the Democrats with more redistricting plans before I exit," he wrote. Read more about his work at The New Yorker.
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