Minnesota' eighth congressional seat might be safe after all.
A report released Sunday based on the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates found that Minnesota will narrowly hang onto all of its congressional House seats when districts are redrawn following the 2010 Census.
But the margin is narrow: Minnesota keeps the seat by just 15,643 people, according to the report.
"We had an inkling of the Minnesota/Missouri switch because both states were right on the edge for that last seat in our 2009 study," said Kimball Brace, president of Election Data Services, which conducted the report.
Minnesota's risk of losing a congressional seat has been known for years thanks to slowed population growth, and the Election Data Services report last year had the state dropping to seven seats.
Now Minnesota flipped with Missouri and will keep its eight seats — provided the estimates hold true.
The report warns that 16 states, including Minnesota, have populations close enough to the last congressional seat that they could still lose or gain when the final census data is tallied.
The 435 congressional districts are reapportioned following each the decennial census. After this year's census, Texas stands to gain four seats, Florida is poised to gain two, and New York is slated to lose two, the report found.
