Redistricting cuts competitive Florida districts

The Orlando Sentinel reports: In the 40-member [Florida] Senate, where 22 seats are up this year, 11 incumbents drew no challenger, while three others face either a Libertarian Party challenger or write-in opponent, usually long shots in Florida.

In the House, where all 120 seats are up for grabs, 51 incumbents drew no opposition for the Aug. 31 primary or Nov. 2 general election. Two other incumbents will face Libertarian opponents. And like Baker, another well-known contender, Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice, captured a House seat outright when no opponent emerged.

While Friday's easy winners celebrated, not everybody was hailing the trend toward legislative walkovers. Scot Schraufnagel, a University of Central Florida political scientist, said the Legislature's 2002 redrawing of district lines created many safe seats for incumbents, particularly Republicans who dominate both the House and Senate.

Democratic voters, by contrast, have been packed into a smaller number of districts, resulting in few races proving truly competitive, he said. ...

The UCF study found that, after the latest redistricting, which occurs every 10 years, 67percent of House races and 65ƒ|percent of Senate races had a Democrat or Republican elected without major party opposition. -- Incumbent power chills challengers (OrlandoSentinel.com)