Population gain gets Georgia another seat in Congress

Tennessee and Georgia outpaced the nation in population growth over the past decade.

The growth added a congressional seat in Georgia and requires Republican-led Legislatures in both states to redraw district boundaries for the 2012 elections.

The U.S. Bureau of the Census reported Tuesday that Georgia grew at nearly twice the U.S. rate, adding more than 1.5 million residents since 2000. That was enough to add a 14th congressional seat to Georgia, which lawmakers will add next fall when they redraw the state’s congressional district lines.

Tennessee grew nearly 19 percent faster than the U.S. growth pace in the past decade, adding 656,822 more residents since 2000, according to the first release from the 2010 census count.

“Americans are moving South for jobs and better climates,” said Bill Fox, director of the University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research, which studies demographic changes in the region. “Tennessee continues to grow faster than the national average, but with the economy weaker in recent years, we didn’t see near as much in-migration and population growth as there was in the 1990s.”

The 11.5 percent growth pace in Tennessee and the 18.3 percent population gain in Georgia from 2000 to 2010 were only two-thirds of the states’ rates in the previous decade, when job growth was much faster and unemployment remained lower.

Nationwide, the first 10 years of the 21st century were the slowest-growing decade since the 1930s, reflecting the sluggish economic growth and the slowdown in the birth rate in recent years, Census Director Robert Groves said Tuesday.

Nationwide, the U.S. population grew 9.7 percent over the 2000 U.S. population. U.S. population now stands at more than 308 million.

The statewide population numbers are the first from the constitutionally mandated population count conducted in April for America’s census, which comes every 10 years.

Georgia gains

Georgia is one of eight states in the South and West that will gain more representation in the Congress because of above-average population gain.

Charles Bullock, a professor of political science at the University of Georgia, said Georgia Republicans who control the state Legislature will try to carve up the state to maximize the GOP advantage. Currently, eight of the 13 Georgia members of the new Congress convening next month will be Republicans.

Most of those congressional districts touch some of the metro Atlanta area, where the state is growing fastest. Bullock said the 14th district is likely to include part of metro Atlanta.

“I suspect, as always, this will be a chance for some political ambition to come forward with multiple persons trying to jockey for the best position for themselves,” Bullock said.

The Georgia Legislature is expected to meet in a special session next fall to draw up the new congressional lines after the Census Bureau releases population figures within each state starting in February.

Across the country, Texas will gain four new House seats, and Florida will gain two. Gaining one each are Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah and Washington.

Ohio and New York will lose two House seats each. Losing one House seat are Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Tennessee keeps 9 seats

Tennessee will keep its nine seats in Congress, but population shifts within the state will require changing the congressional districts to keep each district relatively the same size in representation.

Memphis attorney John Ryder, chairman of the state Republican National Committee’s redistricting committee, said it’s too early to say what changes will be made.

Still, Ryder noted, Census Bureau figures released in 2009 showed that Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis suburbs grew. Chattanooga, which is in the 3rd Congressional District, held its own, Ryder said, but it was not at the pace of the other areas.

“Those districts that haven’t kept pace are going to have to add people and those who have exceeded the pace are going to have to give up some people,” he said.

Ryder said that, like Memphis, much of the suburban growth around Chattanooga has jumped the state border. In Chattanooga, that means Georgia; in Memphis, that means Mississippi.

GOP gains

In 2010 elections, Tennessee Republicans picked up three Democratic-held congressional seats in the 4th, 6th and 8th Districts, ousting Democrat Lincoln Davis in the 4th and winning open seats in the 6th and 8th. That gives state Republicans a 7-2 majority in Congress come January.

Tennessee Republicans this November also increased their control of the state Legislature, which will redraw congressional and state legislative districts in 2012. Republicans have 64 of 99 House seats and 20 of 33 Senate seats.

Ryder repeatedly has stressed to Tennessee Republicans that their redistricting must be “fair and legal.” Earlier this year, he pointed to Georgia as a cautionary tale of what can happen when a party gets too greedy.

District maps drawn by Georgia Democrats were rejected by courts in 2004, which held they packed too many people into some districts and too few in others to protect their incumbents, violating the principle of one person, one vote.

State Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, predicted there will “be a lot of political considerations” by Republicans when they redraw both congressional and legislative districts.

“But hopefully there’ll be some discussion about giving some nonpartisan committees a chance to look at this as well,” he said.

Berke said Tennessee Republicans’ task is “absolutely” made more difficult because of their huge gains.

“Their first goal has to be to satisfy their own members,” Berke said. “Every Republican elected across the state thinks there should be more Republicans in their district. That’s hard to do and satisfy all members.”

Berke acknowledged Democrats probably won’t get much say.

“We’re going to be standing on the sidelines a lot in this fight,” he said.