Tea Partyers Ready to Mix It Up in Redistricting Battles

The tea party movement is capable of a lot more than participating in political campaigns. And tea partyers are proving that now by getting involved in the redistricting efforts going on in state legislatures, Politico reports.

The results of redistricting, of course, will play a major role in determining the future makeup of Congress.

“They [tea partyers] understand that the way districts are drawn impacts our political culture perhaps more than anything else,” Mark Meckler, co-founder and coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, a national umbrella group, tells Politico. “It’s advancing the gains they made and adding to the places where they aren’t yet competitive.”

The grass-roots movement is fighting hard against gerrymandering — the formation of geographically unnatural districts that allow incumbents to stay in power.