Democrats’ hopes of winning the House this fall got a boost Monday with the release of a new congressional-district map in Pennsylvania that could help the party pick up several seats in the battleground state.

Under the previous map, drawn by a Republican Legislature in 2011 and approved by the then-Republican governor, Republicans won 13 of the state's 18 congressional districts in 2016, when President Donald Trump carried 12 of the 18 districts.


But early estimates of the new, court-drawn map suggest there are now 10 Trump seats — opening the door for Democrats to inch closer to the House majority when voters go to the polls this November. The extra Democratic-leaning seats are primarily in the Philadelphia suburbs.

“This is pretty close to a Democratic wet dream,” Christopher Nicholas, a Republican consultant based in Pennsylvania, said of the new map.

Republican legislative leaders are expected to appeal the court-drawn map. State Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and state House Speaker Mike Turzai said they "anticipate further action in federal court" in a statement released Monday evening.

“Implementation of this map would create a constitutional crisis where the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is usurping the authority of the Legislative and Executive branches," Scarnati and Turzai's statement says. "This map illustrates that the definition of fair is simply code for a desire to elect more Democrats.”

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Last month, the state Supreme Court ruled that the congressional map “clearly, plainly and palpably violates” the state’s Constitution, alleging that Republicans unreasonably gerrymandered districts to favor their party. The U.S. Supreme Court denied a request from the Republican-controlled Legislature to intervene in early February.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and GOP legislative leaders failed to agree on a new congressional map, triggering the state Supreme Court to use its map — drawn with assistance from Stanford University law professor Nathaniel Persily, who has created a number of House maps currently in use in other states.

The new map left Democrats celebrating on Monday. Eric Holder, the former attorney general who now heads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, called it a "fair map" that will lead to a "congressional delegation that more accurately reflects the political desires of the people."

“Governor Wolf’s rejection of a map last week that would have continued Republican gerrymandering highlights how important it is that we elect more Democrats who will fight for fairness," Holder added. "Republicans all over the country should be on notice — their days of partisan map-rigging are numbered.”

Democrats need to pick up 24 seats in November to win the majority. The new map — along with the retirements of two GOP incumbents — creates two golden opportunities in Pennsylvania.

Republican Rep. Pat Meehan’s suburban Philadelphia district turned much bluer, and Republicans will struggle to compete there. The open race has attracted several candidates, now that Meehan is not seeking reelection, after revelations that he used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment case.

The GOP may also find it difficult to hold a Lehigh Valley seat, with the retirement of moderate GOP Rep. Charlie Dent and the redrawn lines bringing in more Democratic territory.

Rep. Ryan Costello, an already-targeted suburban Philadelphia Republican, also faces a bluer district after the new map added all of Chester County and the Democratic-leaning city of Reading. Costello will likely face Democrat Chrissy Houlahan, a nonprofit executive who outraised the congressman last quarter and is now running on more favorable terrain.

In Philadelphia's northern suburbs, Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick's district remains an electoral battleground. GOP Reps. Mike Kelly, Keith Rothfus and Scott Perry will find themselves in seats that have moved toward Democrats, but still lean Republican.

“If everything goes right, it could really provide national Democrats a boost and more or less gives them a head start in reclaiming the majority,” said Mike Mikus, a Democratic consultant in the state. "This map is good news for Democrats."

But Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright, who already faced a serious challenge from Republican John Chrin in a district that shifted toward Trump, now represents a slightly redder seat, political insiders said.

Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Lloyd Smucker, who’s facing two well-funded Democratic challengers, saw his Lancaster-based district turn a deeper shade of red.

“If you’re at the DCCC right now, you’re pretty happy today,” said Mike DeVanney, a Republican consultant based in the state. “But Republican members have done a good job with their campaign organization, their strong voting records and despite, I think, a lot of unease and unhappiness, you’ll see a Republican Party working harder than ever to ensure victory.”

Next month's special congressional election for the western Pennsylvania seat vacated by former Rep. Tim Murphy is proceeding under the old district lines. The new map includes a southwestern seat that is even more Republican than the already-GOP-leaning district — though Conor Lamb, the Democratic nominee, finds his home in Rothfus' more-competitive district on the November map.

The release of the map on Monday left incumbents and challengers scrambling to understand the shifting political lines under their feet. Adding to the confusion: The new map renumbered the state's congressional districts. The old numbering scheme had defied both geography and logic.

So far, it does not appear that the court's map draws any members together into the same district. But several challengers did see their homes shift out of the district in which they are running. State House Majority Leader Dave Reed was running to replace retiring Rep. Bill Shuster, but his home in Indiana County moved out of Shuster’s seat and into Rep. Glenn "G.T." Thompson’s.

“Even if they’re not happy about it, you’re going to see candidates making decisions in terms of where they’re going to run and if they’re going to run at all,” DeVanney said. “Right now, it’s chaos.”