As is required every decade to account for shifts in population, the redistricting of congressional and legislative boundaries is under way in Tennessee.
And not too surprisingly, that has prompted a proposal by state lawmakers to revise significantly the shape of congressional districts -- including the 3rd District, in which Chattanooga is situated.
The 3rd District is represented by Republican Congressman Chuck Fleischmann of Chattanooga. At present, it stretches from Hamilton, Bradley and Polk counties northeastward along a fairly narrow corridor to Claiborne County, along the Kentucky and Virginia line. It is one of the most strangely shaped districts in the state.
And it would remain strange even with major revisions that state lawmakers are proposing to the district.
Most of the population of the district would still be in the Chattanooga news media market, noted House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga.
But boundaries would shift such that the 4th Congressional District, west of our 3rd District, would almost completely surround Hamilton County, except for a strip of southern Bradley County to the east and the Georgia line to the south. A chunk of Bradley County, including the city of Cleveland, would become part of the 4th District.
Among other proposed changes:
n It would gain McMinn, Monroe, Morgan and Scott counties, plus portions of Campbell County.
n The 3rd also would gain all of Roane County, which currently is only partly in our district.
n The 3rd District would lose Claiborne, Grainger, Meigs and Rhea counties and part of Jefferson County. Meigs and Rhea would become part of the 4th Congressional District, which is represented by Republican Congressman Scott DesJarlais.
The redistricting plan must still be approved by the General Assembly. But it will obviously affect upcoming congressional races if it is approved.
Republicans, who control the legislature, say the proposed redistricting is reasonable and attempts to group people with common interests. Democrats, who are in the minority, are less enthusiastic.
At any rate, quite a few residents of our region may wake up soon to find themselves voting in a different congressional district from the one they voted in back in 2010. And that has implications for whom Tennesseans will -- or won't -- be sending to Washington in the near future.