The attentive Carmen and Mr. Elgersma both note that the Republicans gerrymandered Jenna Haggar out of District 15 and into District 10. My friends thus inspire me to look at the map.

Here's the map of districts around Sioux Falls for the 2010 election:

South Dakota Legislative Districts, Sioux Falls area, 2010

South Dakota Legislative Districts, Sioux Falls area, 2010

Jenna Haggar's physical address, according to her 2011 contributions to the Minnehaha and state GOP, is 1201 East 8th Street, just east of Cliff Avenue. Zoom in to the 2010 map, and we see Jenna snagged into District 15 in that odd little eastward jut:

South Dakota Legislative Districts, close-up on Dist. 15, 2010

South Dakota Legislative Districts, close-up on Dist. 15, 2010

Now, let's look at the lines the Republicans drew around Sioux Falls this year:

South Dakota Legislative Districts, Sioux Falls area, 2012

South Dakota Legislative Districts, Sioux Falls area, 2012

9 retreats westward, 10 loses its bottom half to 25, save one ugly gerrymander down Highway 42. 10 advances into Sioux Falls and trades precincts with 15. Where's Jenna's house?

South Dakota Legislative Districts, close-up on Dist. 15, 2012

South Dakota Legislative Districts, close-up on Dist. 15, 2012

Sure enough: that little rectangle from I-29 to Cliff, from 6th to 10th, flips from District 15 to District 10.

Now naturally I want to see that map drawn specifically to draw Jenna out to District 10 and the comfy conservative territory of Roger Hunt and Shantel Krebs. But where else could the legislators have drawn those lines in eastern Sioux Falls? A look at the Sioux Falls precinct boundaries shows the line drawers only had so many precinct puzzle pieces to play with:

Minnehaha County Precincts, Sioux Falls, 2012

Minnehaha County Precincts, Sioux Falls, 2012

Whatever the motivation, the GOP has now sent Rep. Jenna Haggar from downtown and Morrells to the conservative rural suburbia of Brandon and Renner. Haggar scored remarkably well, in District 15, winning under her faux-Indy label in every precinct against her two Democratic challengers, Martha Vanderlinde and Patrick Kirschmann. It seems a little unfair to send her out to all new precincts except her home neighborhood. But one observer thinks Haggar will be right at home with Rep. Roger Hunt's old constituency. Can Haggar replace the old dog with her youthful tricks?