The sweet smell of victory is in the air this morning after it became apparent that Republicans are going to win the redistricting fight in Ohio. As RedState reported previously (see Pain and Loathing Commence After Surprise Ohio Redistricting Decision), despite the Ohio Supreme Court once again striking down maps drawn by the GOP legislature, the decision itself was entered as a final judgment. What that meant is that any challenge to the next maps submitted would need to start all over as a new lawsuit.

With the primary set to happen in early May, the districts must be finalized by then for the November mid-terms. That hurdle meant that another lawsuit likely wouldn’t have enough time to progress, and that’s been confirmed after the Ohio Supreme Court released the timeline for any new challenge.

This schedule would seem to preclude a legal challenge to Ohio’s GOP map before the May primary, paving the way for a map as lopsided as 13R-2D to be used for the 2022 elections – unless a federal court intervenes. https://t.co/0n4OOUgRTP

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) March 29, 2022

You can almost hear the desperation in Dave Wasserman’s post as he pleads for a federal judge to intervene and presumably postpone the primaries. As it stands, a lawsuit would take over 60 days to even get off the ground, and the primary is scheduled to be held on May 3rd, which is just a bit over 30 days away from this writing. Things don’t come close to lining up for the Democrats seeking to scuttle GOP plans to gerrymander the state.

And to be sure, it’s a gerrymander, but so what? New York, Illinois, Maryland, California, and other blue states also have extreme gerrymanders. In fact, Republicans being favored in 10 of the 15 districts under the GOP’s new map is actually very tame compared to the other states I listed above (because 2022 is a red wave year, Republicans are more likely to take 12 of the 15 seats this go around).

I’ve long maintained that I don’t have a problem with gerrymandering. Drawing congressional districts is part of the spoils of war. You win a state decisively and control the legislature and governor’s mansion? Then gerrymander away.

Problems only arise when partisan courts attempt to use the Voting Rights Act and other provisions to allow blue states to draw whatever they want while red states get slapped down for even mild partisan leans. There’s nothing fair or just about that, and it’s allowing one side to rig the system while demanding the other side play by a different set of rules.

Regardless, the Republican congressional map being in effect in Ohio for November is a massive win. We are talking about a pickup of several seats that may have gone to Democrats had that not occurred. With courts in North Carolina forcing a near-even R to D split despite Republicans controlling redistricting (a decision likely to be overturned in 2023), the ground gained in Ohio will be huge for attaining the majority in the House.