Yesterday, a federal court judge ordered a new Virginia congressional map for use in this year's election, converting GOP Rep. Randy Forbes' 4th District into a safe Democratic seat. The new map (image courtesy of Daily Kos Elections) effectively unpacks Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott's 56 percent African-American 3rd District into two separate Democratic seats. Last year, a three-judge federal panel declared the 3rd District an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and appointed UC-Irvine professor Bernard Grofman as a special master to propose a remedial plan. Republicans will appeal the new map to the Supreme Court, but with Virginia's congressional primaries scheduled for June, legal experts consider intervention unlikely. Under the new lines, all of the heavily black cities of Richmond and Petersburg would be added to the 4th District, boosting its African-American share from 31 percent to 40 percent and President Obama's 2012 share from 49 percent to over 60 percent. The new 3rd CD, centered on Hampton Roads, is a perfectly safe seat for Scott, who hails from Newport News. Forbes, a strong social conservative, hasn't had a serious challenge since

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