OK, it took me only about 4 hours to draw up a congressional map. I've posted it to my Google account.
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipP ... mTVj8TODys
If you can't access Google Photos, no worries. I will explain each district in detail. I've kept as many of the current district numbers as possible.
District 1 (dark green): Central and western Philadelphia. A much nicer shape than that bacon strip running along the Delaware River, which is present in both the current and the revised GOP map. Bob Brady (D) has represented this area since 1998, and he will probably be here until he dies.
SAFE DEMOCRATIC
District 2 (dark blue): Northern Philadelphia County and the little bits of eastern Montgomery County that didn't fit into my redrawn 7th District. This area has been represented for the past 15 months by Dwight Evans (D), successor to the newly imprisoned Chaka Fattah. These two Philadelphia districts correct one of the problems prevalent in the Republicans' gerrymandered maps: minority packing. The current version of this district is 61% Black, which allowed the Republicans to carve around this area in order to create as many red districts as possible in the Philly suburbs. My proposed districts spread out the minority voters, while still maintaining minority-majority status. My 1st and 2nd Districts each have a 43% Black plurality, with around 10% Hispanic population in each.
SAFE DEMOCRATIC
District 3 (magenta): Northwestern corner of Pennsylvania. The current 3d District cracks the city of Erie and attaches it to the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh. The revised GOP map keeps Erie County intact, but keeps it attached to those Pittsburgh suburbs. Both are totally pointless, as Pittsburgh and Erie have nothing in common. My 3rd District preserves local interest by keeping its borders out of the Pittsburgh area and in the northwestern corner. Mike Kelly (R) and Glenn Thompson (R) each currently represent parts of this district, but neither one would actually want to run in this district because it's a purple district.
TOSSUP
District 4 (red): York and Lancaster. The GOP has these two cities in different districts, but I believe that these two cities share interest and belong together. Most of this district is currently represented by Scott Perry (R), but 16th District representative Lloyd Smucker (R) is the only representative who actually lives within this district's borders. Smucker would feel at home here, as he would go from an R+5 district to an R+9 district.
SAFE REPUBLICAN
District 5 (yellow): North central Pennsylvania. Includes the cities of Williamsport and State College. This district could set up a Republican primary against two incumbents. 10th District representative Tom Marino lives in Williamsport, but Glenn Thompson actually represents more of this area than Marino does. Thompson lives in Venango County in the 3d District, but he could easily move to Jefferson County next door if he wanted to challenge Marino. The revised GOP map that Bob Juch posted shows that a part of Marino's home county (Lycoming County) is added to the 5th District, but Williamsport is kept in the 10th--now stretching down to Harrisburg instead of looping around Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Regardless of who runs and who wins the primary, my 5th District is super-red.
SAFE REPUBLICAN
District 6 (teal): Reading, Jim Thorpe, Pottsville, and the western suburbs of Allentown that wouldn't fit into the 15th District. This is a totally new district that keeps Berks County whole, whereas the current map cracks it into four parts and the revised GOP map breaks it into two districts. 15th District representative Charlie Dent (R) has represented most of this district since 2005, but he's retiring at the end of this year, so this would be an open district. This is a reliably red district, as opposed to Dent's current pink district, so Dent could change his mind.
SAFE REPUBLICAN
District 7 (gray): Wholly contained within Montgomery County. This is one of those counties that Republicans love to crack. It's cracked into four parts in both the current map and the revised map. It's not hard to see why: This county went for President Obama by 12 points in 2012 and for Hillary Clinton by 21 points in 2016. My map requires only one split of this county, with the remainder of the county going into the 2nd District (as stated earlier). No current representatives live in Montgomery County, although current 13th District representative Brendan Boyle (D) does represent a chunk of this area as a part of his Philadelphia gerrymander. He would have to move to Montgomery County, because he certainly wouldn't dare try to challenge either Bob Brady or Dwight Evans in a primary.
SAFE DEMOCRATIC no matter who runs here.
District 8 (violet-blue): Bucks County, with some of the northeastern Philadelphia precincts that didn't fit into the 2nd District. Republicans have long since attached Bucks County to the conservative parts of neighboring Montgomery County in order to protect their own, but I've protected the integrity of Montgomery County instead (as stated earlier). Of course, you could swap out some of those precincts at the Bucks-Montgomery-Philadelphia junction. Attach the far eastern point of Montgomery County to Bucks County, add some of Philadelphia County to the 7th District, and fill out the 2nd District to the Bucks-Philadelphia county line. The results would be the same in either scenario: A district that narrowly went for Hillary in 2016. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Levittown) was just elected to this seat in 2016, but he would be in danger in my 8th District this year.
TOSSUP
District 9 (cyan): Southwestern Pennsylvania. Pretty much a combination of the current 9th and 18th Districts. Currently an open district, as Tim Murphy (R) recently resigned after finding himself on the Harvey List. Whoever wins the Republican primary here would cruise to victory in the general election.
SAFE REPUBLICAN
District 10 (pink); South central Pennsylvania. The Shusters (Rs) have represented this area since 1973--Bud from 1973-2001 and his son, Bill, since 2001. Bill can have this district for as long as he wants because this is the darkest red part of the state.
SAFE REPUBLICAN
District 11 (light green): Harrisburg, Hershey, and Lebanon. The current GOP map cracks the Harrisburg area into three parts. Their revised map splits it into two parts. I've kept Harrisburg Metro whole and attached it only to the immediate northern counties. Not nearly as conservative as Scott Perry's current 4th District, but he should have no trouble winning here.
SAFE REPUBLICAN
District 12 (cornflower): Pittsburgh suburbs. Much cleaner than the mess that the Republicans have made of this area. Mike Kelly of the 3rd District lives here, and this district is several points redder than his current one.
SAFE REPUBLICAN
District 13 (salmon): Delaware County and the conservative southern parts of Philadelphia. Delaware County is yet another county that Republicans slice and dice all to hell. I've kept it whole. Hillary won Delaware County by 22 points in 2016. Even with conservative precincts added, there is no way that current 7th District representative Pat Meehan (R-Drexel Hill) would run in this D+12 district. He would either retire or carpetbag to the neighboring 16th District.
SAFE DEMOCRATIC
District 14 (olive green): Pittsburgh. The GOP regularly cracks Allegheny County into three parts in order to create multiple red districts around this area. My map splits Allegheny County one time only. My 14th District keeps Pittsburgh whole and adds it to the conservative northern part of the county. Mike Doyle (D) goes from a D+17 district to a D+8 district, but he shouldn't have any problems winning re-election. Current 12th District representative Keith Rothfus (R-Sewickley) also lives in this district, but he wouldn't dare run here. He would retire, try to challenge Kelly in the new 12th District, or take a shot in the new 18th District.
SAFE DEMOCRATIC
District 15 (orange): Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and Stroudsburg. This area is cracked in the current GOP map, but they fixed that in their recent revision. My only excursion from their revised map is that I put Monroe County in this district instead of Carbon County. This is an ancestrally Democratic district that has lurched to the conservative side in recent years. Thanks to Drumpf, this district will probably lurch back. For now, I'll call this district
TOSSUP, LEANS REPUBLICAN
District 16 (neon green): Chester County and the eastern half of Lancaster County. Chester County is another victim of Republican gerrymandering, but I've kept it whole in my map. Current 6th District representative Ryan Costello (R-West Chester) lives here, but he could get a primary challenge if Pat Meehan chose to move here. Although Chester County went for Hillary by 9 points in 2016, the addition of eastern Lancaster County makes this a purple district. Incumbency might be enough for either Costello or Meehan to win in November.
TOSSUP, LEANS REPUBLICAN
District 17 (purple): Northeastern Pennsylvania, including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Looks pretty much the same as the 17th District in the GOP's revised map, except that I've kept Luzerne County intact and ceded Monroe County to the 15th District. Although this is an R+2 district, Matthew Cartwright (D) has easily won in this area in the last three House elections. Current 11th District representative Lou Barletta (R-Hazleton) also lives here, but he is way too conservative for an R+2 district. In fact, that's why the Republicans cut up Luzerne County--to protect Barletta from Cartwright. Hazleton is just across the county line from my new 6th District, so Barletta could easily move there if Charlie Dent stuck with his retirement intentions.
LEANS DEMOCRATIC
District 18 (bright yellow): Washington County and the remainder of Allegheny County. Although Drumpf (allegedly) won Washington County by 25 points in 2016, the southern Pittsburgh suburbs erase all of that redness. Expect fireworks in both the Democratic and Republican primaries.
TOSSUP
Overall, my map produces 5 safe blue seats, 1 lean blue seat, 5 competitive seats, and 7 safe red seats.
That was fun. Now I am going to bed.