CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — West Virginia had the sharpest loss of any state in the nation, with a population drop of 3.2%. When Congress allocates federal funding for everything from health care to public transit to highway construction and education, it’s based on population. Because West Virginia lost people, it’s going to lose federal aid.
“What it’s going to mean is we’re going to see a smaller amount coming through. There’s about $6 billion dollars in federal aid that is tied to census data. Depending on how many people are in your state, depends on how much money you get,” said Sean O’Leary from the WV Center on Budget and Policy.
The Legislature will have to re-draw the district lines for 100 House of Delegate seats and 34 State Senate seats. And West Virginia will lose one of its three seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Right now David McKinley, Alex Mooney, and Carol Miller have seats in Congress, but one of them will be out of a job in 2022.
“From a political perspective, it’s now all-out war between the three. It’s kind of like musical chairs. And when the songs stop, there’s only two chairs and three Congressman. So there’s going to be quite a fight,” said Tom Susman, Political Analyst from TSG Consulting.
In this region, Ohio and Pennsylvania are also losing a Congressional seat.
As for the big picture nationally, states that lean red are gaining a total of seven seats. After redistricting, if Republicans have a net gain of just six seats, they will win control of the House of Representatives.