Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Alex Keena
Gerrymandering in Virginia is a strategic blunder for Democrats Original
by Alex Keena, Virginia Mercury February 9, 2026 Last year, President Donald Trump started a new “redistricting war” when he pressured Republicans in Texas to redraw their state’s congressional district map to help the party win five additional seats. In response, Democrats in California advanced a congressional map that stacks the deck in favor of Democrats, while several other states (both red and blue) have followed suit.
Gerrymandering in Virginia is a strategic blunder for Democrats
1 hour ago Libertarians can be annoying, with our constant bellyaching about privacy and taxes, our obsession with the First Amendment and our fearmongering about jackbooted thugs. But in light of how the past year has unfolded, consider cutting your friendly neighborhood libertarian some slack. After all, we …
Alex Keena, Author at Virginia Mercury
Nonprofit. Nonpartisan. No paywalls. Fair and tough reporting on the policy and politics that affect all of us is more important than ever. The Mercury brings you coverage of the commonwealth's biggest issues from a team of veteran Virginia journalists. View our Republishing Guidelines. We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Out-Of-State Donors and Legislative Surrogacy in the U.S. Senate
Get full access to this article View all access and purchase options for this article. References Albert Zachary, La Raja Raymond. 2020. “Small Dollar Donors and the Evolving Democratic Party.” APSA Preprints. Ansolabehere Steven, de Figueiredo John M., Snyder James M. Jr. 2003. “Why Is There So Little Money in Politics?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 17 (1): 105-130. Baker Anne E. 2016. “Getting Short-Changed?
Ask and You Shall Receive: The Effects of Negativity and Fundraising Appeals on Facebook
Abstract Social media has transformed electoral politics and allows campaigns to micro-target supporters. However, little is known about the effectiveness of political ads on social media, particularly those that appeal for money. We study the fundraising effects of ad campaigns sponsored by a well-funded Super PAC, The Lincoln Project. Our model includes 100s of millions of ad impressions targeting Facebook users in the 50 states, plus D.C., over 308 days in 2020.
The Politics of Georgia’s Resolution Condemning Hinduphobia
Anti-Hindu hate crimes tend to make up a relatively small portion of all hate crimes committed in the US. For impactful stories you just can’t miss Last month, the legislative assembly in the US state of Georgia enacted a resolution condemning “Hinduphobia”, discrimination and bigotry targeting Hindus, becoming the first US state to pass such a measure. While it is difficult to quantify the prevalence of discrimination against Hindus, data on hate crimes suggest these attacks are not isolated.
Lessons From America: What US Can Teach India About Dangers of Gerrymandering
(This article was first published in February 2023. It has been republished from The Quint's archives in light of the Delimitation Bill.) In December 2022, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ordered the merging of recently forged four administrative districts with their parent districts.
2021 Redistricting In Virginia: Evaluating The Effectiveness of Reforms
Abstract The redistricting cycle that followed the 2020 census provided the first test of Virginia’s redistricting reforms that were enacted when voters approved the constitutional amendment in the 2020 General Election. The centerpiece of these reforms is the bipartisan Virginia Redistricting Commission, comprised of eight citizen and eight legislator members. This article details how the 2021 redistricting occurred under the new reforms, and it evaluates the maps that were ultimately approved.
Maybe it's time for more demand-side approaches to gun control
▪ You must give Virginia Mercury credit, including https://virginiamercury.com and author. ▪ If you publish online, include the links from the story, and a link to Virginia Mercury. ▪ Stories may be edited for in-house style or to shorten. More substantial changes should be noted as additional and conducted by your publication. ▪ You can publish our graphics and any photos that are credited to Virginia Mercury with the stories with which they originally appeared.
Maybe it’s time for more demand-side approaches to gun control
By Alex Keena In the wake of dozens of mass shootings in the past month, gun violence has once again dominated the national conversation. Democrats have repeated their calls for increased restrictions on access to firearms, such as banning assault weapons, while many Republicans are opposing such measures, arguing instead that mass shootings stem from mental health issues.
Electoral Engineering and the Freedom to Vote
This week, the Senate is holding a vote to open debate on the Freedom to Vote Act, Senator Joe Manchin’s attempt to gain bipartisan support for basic voting protections. The act is designed to remedy the Supreme Court’s failure to address a partisan gerrymandering crisis, limit state legislators’ use of restrictive election laws to insulate them from accountability, and protect the country from another state legislative–based coup attempt in 2024.
Evaluating Virginia’s redistricting reforms
0:05 Commentary By Alex Keena Last year, Virginia voters approved a sweeping set of changes to the redistricting process in the form of a constitutional amendment proposed by the General Assembly. The centerpiece of these reforms is a bipartisan redistricting commission comprised of eight legislators and eight citizens tasked with drawing state legislative and congressional election maps.
Gerrymandering the States
State legislatures are tasked with drawing state and federal districts and administering election law, among many other responsibilities. Yet state legislatures are themselves gerrymandered. This book examines how, why, and with what consequences, drawing on an original dataset of ninety-five state legislative maps from before and after 2011 redistricting.
COMMENTARY: GOP's real gains will be in state legislatures
The U.S. Census Bureau has released the long-awaited results of the 2020 Census, triggering the nation's once-a-decade redistricting process. States must now begin to redraw the districts that will elect members of Congress and state legislators, accounting for changes in population so all districts' numbers of residents are roughly equal.
Analysis | Redistricting might gain Republicans a few seats in Congress. Their real gains will be in state legislatures.
The U.S. Census Bureau has released the long-awaited results of the 2020 Census, triggering the nation’s once-a-decade redistricting process. States must now begin to redraw the districts that will elect members of Congress and of the state legislatures, accounting for any changes in population so that all districts’ numbers of residents are roughly equal.
Alex Keena, Michael D. Gilbert and Rebecca Green column: The redistricting amendment will strengthen democracy in Virginia
By Alex Keena, Michael D. Gilbert and Rebecca Green This year, lawmakers in the General Assembly are considering a proposal to change the way election districts are drawn in Virginia. The proposal would amend the Virginia Constitution to transfer redistricting authority from the General Assembly to a new redistricting commission made up jointly of citizens and legislators.
Analysis | Here’s how to fix partisan gerrymandering, now that the Supreme Court kicked it back to the states.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court released its much-anticipated decision in Rucho v. Common Cause, saying that if a legislature draws districts that disproportionately favor one party — usually called “partisan gerrymandering” — it’s a “political question” that the federal courts can’t fix. Those who oppose partisan gerrymandering must therefore fight it in the states, where reformers have made significant gains.
The Supreme Court’s partisan gerrymandering decision is Justice Scalia’s last laugh. Democratic restoration now depends on the people alone.
This week the United States Supreme Court determined that reviewing partisan gerrymandering cases was outside the remit of federal courts. Alex Keena, Michael Latner, Anthony J. McGann and Charles Anthony Smith argue that in failing to recognize the vote dilution caused by gerrymandering, as well as connecting the majority rule standard to the Fourteenth Amendment, the decision removes Americans’ fundamental right to participate equally in the political process.
Will increasing small dollar donations polarize Congress?
The costs of mounting a successful congressional campaign have increased exponentially over the last three decades. In order to win in this environment, members of Congress must increasingly rely on a small pool of donors that is older, whiter, wealthier, and disproportionately male, relative to the general population. After big gains in the 2018 midterms, Democrats pledged to advance broad-ranging election reforms.
The 2018 House elections may be historic enough to end the redistricting wars
This year’s midterm elections saw reforms to the way US House districts are drawn in four states. Alongside these successful measures, write Alex Keena, Michael Latner, Anthony J. McGann and Charles Anthony Smith, Democratic takeovers of gubernatorial mansions and successful voting rights reforms such as Florida’s felon re-enfranchisement are likely to signal the beginning of an era of significant electoral reforms in the US.
Gerrymandering america house representatives supreme court and future popular sovereignty | American government, politics and po
This book considers the political and constitutional consequences of Vieth v. Jubelirer (2004), where the Supreme Court held that partisan gerrymandering challenges could no longer be adjudicated by the courts. Through a rigorous scientific analysis of US House district maps, the authors argue that partisan bias increased dramatically in the 2010 redistricting round after the Vieth decision, both at the national and state level.
Analysis | Want a less partisan senator? Elect a former governor.
Monkey Cage Analysis Analysis Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events Former GOP presidential nominee and current GOP candidate for Senate Mitt Romney addresses supporters while his family looks on at their campaign headquarters during a primary election night party on June 26 in Orem, Utah.
Maryland’s electoral maps show how proportional representation could solve the problem of gerrymandering
This week the US Supreme Court hears a case concerning the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering in Maryland. Examining current, past, and alternative electoral maps, Alex Keena, Michael Latner, Anthony J. McGann, and Charles Anthony Smith find that by making districts more competitive, some redistricting plans can actually work against one party or the other.
Gerrymandering in America: The House of Representatives, the Supreme Court, and the Future of Popular Sovereignty
Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama, No. 2:12-cv-00691 (M.D. Ala.), No. 13–395, No. 13–895 & No. 13–1138 (S. Ct.) ( b). Cantor v. Personhuballah No. 3:13-cv-00678 (E.D. Va.), No. 14–518, & No. 14–1504 (S. Ct.) ( b). Committee for a Fair and Balanced Map v. Illinois State Board of Elections, No. 1:11-cv-05065 (N.D. Ill.) ( a). Dickson v. Rucho, No. 11-CVS-16896 (N.C. Super Ct., Wake County), No. 201PA12, No. 201PA12-2, & No. 201PA12-3 (N.C. Sup. Ct.), No. 14–839 (Sup. Ct.) ( c). Evenwel et al. v.
Gerrymandering the Presidency: Why Trump could lose the popular vote in 2020 by 6 percent and still win a second term.
Donald Trump was the clear Electoral College winner in the 2016 election, despite losing the popular vote by a wide margin to Hillary Clinton. Anthony J. McGann, Charles Anthony Smith, Michael Latner and Alex Keena write that, unless the Supreme Court stops congressional gerrymandering, President Trump can guarantee re-election in 2020 – even if he loses by 6 percent.
Analysis | We have a standard for judging partisan gerrymandering. The Supreme Court should use it.
In his farewell address to the nation, then-President Barack Obama called for an end to partisan gerrymandering, saying that congressional districts should be drawn “to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.” After his presidency, Obama will work with former attorney general Eric Holder, who will lead the National Democratic Redistricting Initiative, a group established to challenge Republican-drawn district maps in the courts.
Why the Democrats won't win the House in 2018
The result of the presidential election may have taken some people by surprise, but the fact that Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives was completely predictable. Republicans would have retained the House almost regardless of who voters supported for president, barring an improbable landslide. As we argue in our book “Gerrymandering in America,” the Republicans will win the House again in 2018 and 2020.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Alex
Contact Alex, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack