California fails to gain House seat based on census
By Michael Doyle, Fresno Bee Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON – California’s congressional delegation will remain the same size while Texas and Florida will bulk up, under final 2010 census results released Tuesday morning.
With a population of 37.3 million, California will retain its current 53 House seats for the coming decade. Along with every other state, California will also keep two senators.
Reapportionment following the 2010 census still leaves California with the largest delegation in the 435-member House of Representatives. As the nation’s population grew 9.7% to 308,745,538, though, the overall balance shifted across the country.
“This is really an important day for the American people,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said at the National Press Club. “Much is riding on the results.”
All told, 18 states will either gain or lose House seats, while 32 states will stay the same
The 2010 census marks the first reapportionment since 1920 that California has not gained at least one House seat. More broadly, it marks a continued population tilt away from Rust Belt states into the Sun Belt.