Here’s a first look at the new congressional map that’s about to be introduced in the House – but has already received informal approval in the Senate:

More maps to come, but you can see that Barrow, a Savannah resident, has been moved out of Chatham County – but his 12th District still retains Augusta and a portion of Columbia County.
Barrow sent out a quick comment indicating he won’t be dissuaded from running:
“This isn’t the first time the folks in Atlanta have put politics above the interests of the people I represent… and I doubt it will be the last. But I’ve always believed that working hard for the people trumps politics every time….
“I look forward to getting to know the new constituents drawn in to Georgia’s 12th District, and building on the friendships I’ve formed with folks who still call the 12th District home.”
Buckhead has been split two ways — neither of them involving U.S. Rep. Tom Price, R-Roswell. U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey gets most of Buckhead and would become Gov. Nathan Deal’s congressman. U.S. Rep. John Lewis did not look kindly on the splitting of Atlanta into two congressional districts. Said Lewis:
“I am very disappointed by the proposed congressional maps released today by the Georgia General Assembly. It is an affront to the spirit and letter of the Voting Rights Act. The City of Atlanta should remain whole and attempts to split the City are nothing more than naked partisanship.”
Just got off the phone with Lewis’ Democratic primary challenger, former Fulton County superior court judge Michael Johnson, who said he lives in southwest Atlanta and remains within the 5th Congressional District.
Price’s lines are drawn south to the Atlanta city limits — remember that he supported Karen Handel in last year’s GOP hostilities for governor, and that Buckhead’s wealthy campaign contributors are seen as a large prize among Republicans.
Democrat Hank Johnson, who represents the 4th District, would be pushed eastward into Rockdale and Newton Counties.
The new 9th District eats up Hall County and the whole of northeast Georgia, with Fannin and Gilmer counties the last of its territory in the west.
Gingrey is deprived of Floyd County, which was one of his demands.
Links to statistics and maps can be found here. But look below for a closer look at what are likely to become the new congressional lines in metro Atlanta:

And as predicted, Democrat Sanford Bishop’s 2nd District picks up the largest portion of Bibb County and the city of Macon, sweeping up what would have been the most likely venue to produce a challenger to freshman Republican Austin Scott in the 8th District:

Scott, from Tifton, also picked up Valdosta and Moody Air Force Base in Lowndes County.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
For instant updates, follow me on Twitter, or connect with me on Facebook.
101 comments Add your comment
td
August 22nd, 2011
6:18 pm
honested
August 22nd, 2011
5:25 pm
Bobby A
Trimming off broun (the decidedly dimmest bulb in Congress) would be a win for GA!
Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, Hank Johnson… These people make Bourn look like a Rhodes scholar.
Heavy D
August 22nd, 2011
6:25 pm
This is just AWFUL! I am ONE STREET AWAY from being drawn out of Congressman Austin Scott’s district and being put in Sanford Bishops! ONE STREET! MADNESS!!!!
DannyX
August 22nd, 2011
6:30 pm
Any idea idea who will be challenging Tom Graves in the Republican primary?
Surely his “We the People” district will want him out.
Smoke
August 22nd, 2011
6:31 pm
I just love seeing Broun and scholar in the same sentence. He was a southern conservative democrat before he became a southern conservative republican, but never changed his philosophy. This is the same guy who wasted legislative time introducing a bill to ban the sale or rental of sexually explicit materials on U.S military installations. Rhodes Scholar indeed.
Disgruntled in the 5th
August 22nd, 2011
6:31 pm
So much for the old Army rule of Leave No One Behind
double
August 22nd, 2011
6:32 pm
Enough to cause one to talk to self.post to self.
Smoke
August 22nd, 2011
6:47 pm
Broun is the scholar that said that the CDC could force you to eat more fruits and vegetables. After the recent report that Georgia is #2 State for fat folks, that’s the last thing we need. Go Conservatives!!!
honested
August 22nd, 2011
7:10 pm
broun is a supposed physician,…… who isn’t allowed to practice at the hospitals in his home town.
Yet he is ‘entrusted’ to ‘represent’ the same people who had the good sense to pull his privileges.
Go figure.
Capitol Idea
August 22nd, 2011
7:18 pm
Has Tom Price raised a point of order or two or two hundred and objected yet.
td
August 22nd, 2011
7:47 pm
honested
August 22nd, 2011
7:10 pm
And he is still smarter than half the Dems currently in the House of Reps and smarter than 90% of Democratic voters.
MiltonMan
August 22nd, 2011
7:58 pm
Liberal dorks who think they will be able to vote out Price.
Funny stuff
Paddy O
August 22nd, 2011
8:20 pm
From my perspective in Northwest GA, this is a really good map. I will miss Gingrey, but I think having more conservatives in Congress might just balance the budget.
Free at Last
August 22nd, 2011
8:24 pm
Thank God I’m free from John Lewis!
Paddy O
August 22nd, 2011
8:25 pm
next election, I won’t be voting for the Bank scheister Graves, either. Wonder who will challenge him in the primary. Perhaps somebody from Paulding, Rome or Dalton.
John
August 22nd, 2011
9:32 pm
Phil Gingrey wants to keep Floyd County in his district. Floyd County wants to keep Phil Gungrey as their Congressman. Why can’t the legislature make that happen instead of throwing us into a district represented by an irresponsible nutcase like Tom Graves?
There is a sickness in GA
August 22nd, 2011
9:58 pm
@Paddy O Just like they did when the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and Bush was the President? Ha ha. Please, Republicans love deficits…as Richard Cheney paraphrasing President Ronald “Raygun” said “deficits don’t matter.”
If Republicans really wanted to balance the budget they would start by letting the Bush tax rates reset, close up some tax loopholes, and raise the capital gains tax rate.
double
August 22nd, 2011
10:13 pm
More conservatives in congress could balance budget.They failed when had majority.This country down drain,Obama fall guy.
Voter
August 22nd, 2011
10:34 pm
Understand not one of the Congressmen are Happy with the new maps. Deal stuck it to all of them, even the one who when out on the limb for him. Now that’s the way to say Thank you.
If you really look at it Tom Graves is the Congressman with the best chance to loose. his district.
honested
August 22nd, 2011
11:12 pm
milton man and td, you sad pathetic little trolls,
Do you have any idea how much money the area that has just been ripped from the 4th District raised for Congressman Johnson? Do you have any idea how much support has been put asunder to suit the needs of a handful of disgruntled imperialists that want nothing more than a walled city and constant cash from the rest of the region.
You will need to wait no longer than June of 2012 to see the fruits of what your misguided ‘leaders’ have wrought.
Despite his attachment to the confederacy, the wisdom of Joel Chandler Harris was to see the future that was just a fuzzy myth to so many.
To you misguided and seeking milton, remember here in the 4th, ‘Born and Bred in the Briar Patch’.
Good Luck suckers.
Matt the Brave
August 22nd, 2011
11:25 pm
If they’d cut off the part of the 11th district that encompasses part of Fulton and Marietta, that’d be much better. If they don’t, then Cherokee and Bartow will never get anything. Everything will go to Atlanta and Marietta, as usual.
ED
August 23rd, 2011
1:01 am
Most of the districts actually look pretty reasonable. Amazing though that the technology used for viewing the maps was better 10 years ago. The redistricting committee sucks!
Eugene
August 23rd, 2011
1:33 am
Based upon this map I do not believe the one major resource that Atlanta cannot live without is well represented by this proposed redistricting formulas. If the district lines are not redrawn, then Atlanta will be totally dependent upon other surrounding districts for their water supply. I do not think there are any reservoirs located in the same district(s) as the City of Atlanta.
Cathy D. Wright
August 23rd, 2011
1:49 am
I love John Lewis. He knows how to motivize the people! We need more people like him to optimize and maximize laws to stop all the money lenders from ripping off the people. Subprime lending should be a crime!!!!!!
sleestak
August 23rd, 2011
5:14 am
Looks like I will be moving from Moonbat David Scott To Moonbat/Racist John Lewis as my rep! Both DF’s
I Can Move Again!
August 23rd, 2011
6:15 am
Barrow has already moved once (Athens to Savannah)to retain the seat he currently holds. I guess he just feels he is the only one qualified to hold the seat, why not accept the fact that the district was changed, go get a real job (something outside of DC) and let someone else have a chance at “public service”. If you ever wanted to see a case of a politician that is just unwilling to let go, this is it…….
Smoke
August 23rd, 2011
6:19 am
We know that Lewis is a moonbat/racist because southern conservatives beat the crap out of him because he wanted the right to vote, workers’ rights and wanted to attend that liberal Troy State University. We know that Moonbat Scott is dumb because he graduated from schools with a silly names like FAMU and Wharton. SMH.
Clinton "Skink" Tyree
August 23rd, 2011
7:37 am
The GOP has done such a terrific job with the economy, jobs, education and the budget that they deserve to protect their turf and transform the state into a little Fiefdom of the Right.
And, so it goes. . . .
Penny
August 23rd, 2011
7:43 am
Would love to escape the no representation we’ve had for years here in Buckhead with John Lewis, but I hate this gerrymandering regardless of whatever party is doing it. We need statesmen, people. TERM LIMITS!!! This is politically driven. People in Buckhead/Brookhaven all have common interests and shouldn’t be split up all over the place because of money. How about this? No money for any of them!!
Penny
August 23rd, 2011
7:45 am
Sorry “sleestak,” sadly, you are right. No, I mean left. Hate it for you.
Penny
August 23rd, 2011
7:49 am
Hey Cathy, most of the problems we are suffering from now can be tracked back easily to your pals Barney Frank and Dodd in Washington. They were sure EVERYONE should own a house, regardless of if they had the money to own one or the sense to put something up for a rainy day when times got bad. They were nothing short of idiots!! Look into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and I think you will barf. See what the scoundrels at the top walked away with….millions….while the rest of us try hard to pick up the pieces. Freaking crooks and fools. They should be prosecuted not made millionaires!
Cafeej
August 23rd, 2011
8:01 am
I live in Brookhaven and look forward to voting AGAINST Tom Price.
Chuck
August 23rd, 2011
8:08 am
I think this map looks remarkably coherent… until you get to Atlanta of course, where coherence is a rarity. Thank the Voting Rights Act for that.
Tommy Maddox
August 23rd, 2011
8:15 am
Maybe this will help rid us of John Lewis.
D man
August 23rd, 2011
8:55 am
I remember when the democrats used to do this all of the time when they were in power and the press didn’t say much about it. Stop whining you big babies. This is just politics. One day when the democrats take back over, they will change it to favor their voting districts. I hope that doesn’t happen for a very long time. I’ve had enough of the democrats “CHANGE” for a lifetime…
Podivad
August 23rd, 2011
9:32 am
But this still has to get by the Obama Dept of Justice review. John Lewis may still get his wish. But I got rid of Sanford Bishop.
Dee
August 23rd, 2011
9:57 am
I’m amazed at how these politicians move from city to city just to keep these cushy jobs. Are you really serving the people or are you serving yourself? Well I guess we know the answer to that.
Trip
August 23rd, 2011
9:58 am
Thank God I am out of John Lewis’s district!
honested
August 23rd, 2011
10:04 am
Cafeej,
I’m with you .
I look forward to helping finance price’s opponent.
In the mad dash to invent an unnecessary county, the massas have spread themselves too thin to maintain the hold they took for granted.
I welcome the coming change.
Georgia gets its new Congressional districts | Open Geography
August 23rd, 2011
10:26 am
[...] Here it is: [...]
dahreese
August 23rd, 2011
12:22 pm
Be patient.
At the rate of disgust that the Republican party is enjoying on a national level, it will not be long before that disgust affects the local level and Republicans will wish they had done a better job of establishing more equal voting districts.
The only people who cannot see this “national” “disgust” and its downward spiraling are Republican idealists who would vote Republican regardless of the issues – even if it meant hanging their mother.
You don’t have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.
Lizzie
August 23rd, 2011
1:42 pm
To dahreese, what rock are you living under? The disgust of the electorate with the Dems far outweighs the disgust with politicians in general. Get real!!
ryan
August 23rd, 2011
2:04 pm
I have been stuck in John Lewis’s district for years and thanks to the GOP I am still stuck- Lewis is the most unresponsive member of the GA delegation
It is silly for him to be representing Buckhead, its akin to Lynn Westmoreland representing Midtown
dahreese
August 23rd, 2011
2:09 pm
I’m not sure who you listen to, Lizzie, but if it’s the FOX type news, you’re being brainwashed if you think I’m wrong. Even Republicans are shying away from the TParty.
BPJ
August 23rd, 2011
4:13 pm
Did anyone notice that the Governor’s mansion will now be in the Republican district, but that Anne Cox Chambers’s house across the street stays in John Lewis’s district? Coincidence??
Smoke
August 23rd, 2011
6:39 pm
I wonder why the US Congress approval rating went well below the Cheney line after the GOP took over?
Smoke
August 23rd, 2011
6:42 pm
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have their major issues, but look who they were working for, I mean with. Free market capitalist real estate lenders who have robbed citizens blind, and conservatives want to make their tax cuts permanent. SMH.
D man
August 23rd, 2011
8:17 pm
Smoke – you sound like you are smoking something illegal. Stop killing those brain cells so you can think for a change. In case you didn’t realize, it was Bill Clintons “fair lending act” bill that started the mess. Yes, the banks took advantage of that bill but Clinton was the idiot that started the mess because of another entitlement program.
Remarkable
August 24th, 2011
12:22 pm
I just hate that I will still have to fight to get rid of John Barrow as my Representative. Maybe now we have a chance to throw him out. He talks out of both sides of his mouth.
Gerry Mander
August 24th, 2011
1:08 pm
Oh great, both Georgia’s major Air Force bases are now represented by a Congressmen who knows nothing, absolutely nothing, about the military and thinks a vet is who you take your dog to when it’s sick. At least the Pentagon will finally be able to close Moody – something they have wanted to do for a long time — the next time they have another base closure round.
D Davis
August 24th, 2011
1:23 pm
As long as Tom Price remains my Congressman and he still represents ALL of Sandy Springs, I’m happy. He such a “stand up guy” and like him or not, his votes and his positions reflect his constituency very closely. The new 6th District, for the most part, has combined similar neighborhoods and dynamic new emerging cities that share common values and concerns. . I think it is a good district and is probably stronger for having not included neighborhoods from inside the city of Atlanta.