That continues a 40-year trend, but it no longer means a shift from older Democratic seats to new Republican seats. The clout of House incumbents in providing federal goodies. The opportunity to avenge past political slights. Not quite the way the framers of the Constitution envisioned the process, experts say. You can't casually say that since the Democrats or Republicans control a state legislature, they will pick up seats in that state.
Nothing is in the bank.
The Constitution requires a Census every 10 years. At the start of every decade, the Census Bureau releases population counts for the nation. The total is divided into 435 House districts, and each state is apportioned a number of seats. Every state gets at least one House member . The Census numbers must be delivered to the president by Dec. 31.