Redistricting battle begins at the Legislature with release of Republican maps

By Anjeanette Damon

Thursday, April 28, 2011 | 12:01 p.m.

The blood sport of redistricting begins in earnest today at the Nevada Legislature.

In an effort to preempt the Democratic majority, who plan to release their maps this afternoon, legislative Republicans released their competing maps today, calling them a fair alternative.

The two sets of maps set the boundary lines of what is expected to be an ugly fight as lawmakers work to preserve their districts, or set their sights on the districts of the higher offices they hope to one day win.

While Democrats have the majority, and thus the votes to pass maps they draw, Republicans have the governor, who has vowed to veto anything he sees as unfair.

Here’s a brief rundown of the Republican maps:

• On the congressional level, Republicans put forward two GOP districts and two Democratic districts. The Republican districts basically draw a horizontal line, splitting the rurals into northern and southern halves. U.S. Rep. Joe Heck would represent the southern half, while U.S. Rep. Dean Heller’s successor would represent the north.

The Las Vegas metropolitan area would be carved into two Democratic districts, one being a majority Hispanic district. (That change drew an angry response from one national Latino organization that called it “an absolute assault.”)

• On the state senate level, Republicans eliminated Sen. Greg Brower’s district to add a district to Clark County. Brower, who was appointed to replace Sen. Bill Raggio, expected the change. Brower this week announced his bid for Congress.

• On the Assembly level, Assembly Minority Leader Pete Goicoechea’s district was eliminated to move to Clark County. He is expected to run for Senate.