(CNN)On Monday night, the US Supreme Court rejected Republican-led challenges to congressional district maps in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, handing Democrats a win in each of the hotly contested states.
The Supreme Court's decision effectively cements a huge story that has been under the radar for months now: Democrats are on track to emerge from the decennial redistricting process in FAR better shape than either party expected even a year ago.
"This ruling ensures the 2022 House map will be much less skewed towards Republicans than the current one (and perhaps not skewed towards Rs at all)," tweeted Dave Wasserman, a nonpartisan redistricting expert and House editor at the Cook Political Report, on Monday night.
And Wasserman noted that the news could get even better -- if the Ohio Supreme Court invalidates a Republican plan, it could mean two to three more House seats for Democrats.
All of that follows on a new map unveiled by New York Democrats last month, which could result in a 22-4 Democratic advantage in the state's delegation. (The current split is 19 Democrats, 8 Republicans.)
It's a remarkable upsetting of expectations. Heading into the once-a-decade redraw, the conventional wisdom was that Republicans would have a large edge in redistricting -- one they would use to further position themselves to win back the House in 2022.
