Dirk VanderHart

Despite a new congressional map less tilted in Democrats’ favor, Republicans elected to stall the process.

So far a legislative session on new political maps has seen a broken deal, a threatened walkout and now a positive coronavirus test.

The Senate passed new political maps Monday, but an ongoing impasse in the House could blow up a highly charged special session.

As the Legislature convenes Monday morning, there are few signs it will be able to successfully pass a new redistricting plan.

Following hours of testimony and accusations of gerrymandering, the state's majority party unveiled maps it says meet "the highest legal standards." An analysis tool suggests the plan biased.

But next week's special session on redistricting will hardly be a return to normalcy. The Capitol is under construction. Mask rules are in place. And many lawmakers are concerned about security after last year's incursion on the building.

State Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, was the second Senate Republican targeted for recall because he showed up to oppose a gun control bill. Detractors wanted Findley to walk away from the Capitol.

The maps released on Friday are just a starting point as lawmakers work to pass a final plan. They could chart wildly divergent political paths for the state.

The once-a-decade redistricting process will begin in earnest Friday, when lawmakers give their first pitch for how to reshape the state's political landscape.

House Speaker Tina Kotek is making official what many had already seen as a certainty: She will run for governor in 2022.