Supreme Court Strikes Down Republican Appeal Over Pennsylvania Congressional District Map

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WASHINGTON (CBS/AP) -- The Supreme Court struck down an appeal on Monday from Pennsylvania Republican legislators over a new state congressional district map.

According to Reuters, justices rejected the appeal of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that threw out 6-year-old district maps that were drawn and approved by the state's Republican-controlled Legislature and Republican governor.

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It tore up decades of precedent in how districts were drawn in a bid to elect as many Republicans as possible, and it succeeded. Republicans won 13 of 18 congressional seats on that map in three straight elections in a state where Democrats hold a registration advantage and won 18 of 24 statewide elections during that period.

After Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and the Legislature's Republican majorities didn't agree on a replacement map, Democrats on the court imposed one . The new map repackages elongated and bent districts and reunifies Democrat-heavy cities that had been split by Republican map drawers.

November's midterm election is expected to dramatically change Pennsylvania's delegation, especially after several Republican congressmen decided against running again amid a hostile political environment.

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The new districts are expected to yield something closer to a 9-9 tie. If Democrats win every seat on their battlefield map, they'll capture 12 total seats and wipe out nearly one-third of the 23-seat Republican majority.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)