Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index (PVI) is a measurement took that scores each congressional district based on how strongly it leans toward one political party. The index, developed by Charlie Cook of the Cook Political Report, compares that score to the nation as a whole. The PVI is designed to "provide a quick overall assessment of generic partisan strength in a congressional district."

The data in the report is compiled by POLIDATA with assistance from the National Journal and Cook Political Report.

Basic data

There are three primary sets of data included in the PVI:

1. The district PVI and rank relative to the rest of the country.
2. How the district voted in the 2008 presidential election
3. How the district voted in the 2004 presidential election

For example, The 6th congressional district of Alabama is a R+28, which is the 3rd most Republican district. John McCain (R) won the district 75-25 percent over Barack Obama in 2008. George W. Bush won the district 78-22 percent over John Kerry (D) in 2004.

2012 elections

See also: United States House of Representatives elections, 2012

According to the index, there are:

• 213 Republican wins
• 158 Democratic wins
• 62 open seats
• 2 incumbent vs. incumbent matchups

Other stats:

• The most Democratic district is the 15th congressional district of New York, which is D+41
• The most Republican district is the 13th congressional district of Texas, which is R+29

External links

• Cook Political Report Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008
• Cook Partisan Voter Index on Wikipedia