>N.J. population shifting from heavily Democratic North
By Shane D’Aprile – 02/04/11 12:32 PM ET
New detailed Census data released Thursday for New Jersey shows population growth concentrated in the central and southern parts of the state, which could make it harder for Democrats to ensure the loss of a single congressional seat comes at the expense of a Republican.
The state must shed a congressional district this year, and two potential Republican targets will use the new data to bolster the argument to leave their districts alone.
Seniority tends to rule the roost in the state’s congressional redistricting process, so speculation has centered on GOP Reps. Leonard Lance and Jon Runyan, who was just elected in November.
But Runyan’s district contains Ocean County, which saw the largest population growth of any county in the state, further bolstering the case that he won’t be a redistricting target
