Last week, more than 200 conservative state lawmakers from around the country packed into a hotel conference room in Austin for a panel session entitled “How to Survive Redistricting.” The verdict? As the panel of battle-hardened Republicans advised, it’s a political bloodsport. Be cautious, yet ruthless.
The session was part of the annual conference for ALEC, a powerful cohort of legislators and corporations that develops and advances right-wing legislation in statehouses around the country. For a group that largely focuses on the free-market priorities of its industry backers, the focus on redistricting is a sign of just how high the stakes are for conservatives in the upcoming redistricting cycle.
“If Republicans lose seats in the redistricting process, ALEC loses power,” said Jay Riestenberg, deputy communications director at the national government reform group Common Cause. “At the end of the day, the legislators are what ALEC offers to their corporate funders.”
