ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
This week, Virginia's Supreme Court knocked back a voter-approved redistricting plan that could have given Democrats in the state an advantage. This came just one day after Republican lawmakers in Tennessee approved a new voting map, aimed at eliminating the state's lone Democrat House seat. We're joined now by NPR's Don Gonyea to talk politics. Good morning, Don.
DON GONYEA, BYLINE: Good morning.
NADWORNY: So this redistricting race is not slowing down. I mean, in Tennessee, there were protests against the move, which was not put to a public vote. And in Virginia, where voters narrowly supported redistricting, we saw the state Supreme Court strike it down over a procedural error. I mean, what's the takeaway for voters?
GONYEA: First, it is confusing for voters, right? This is a midterm. So traditionally, that means lower turnout and overall lower interest by voters because there's no presidential contests driving those things. But now you have voters who don't even know what district they live in because of these changes. They used to live in 4, now they're in 11 or whatever, right? And the changes, making it more confusing, are being driven by a variety of things - ballot initiatives, court cases, state lawmakers - so it's hard to keep up.
As journalists, we're out there talking to voters. We always run into some high-information voters - people on top of everything. But we also talk to lots of people who know less than that - some who pay very little attention at all till Election Day rolls around. This just makes it harder for everyone. And it, again, can radically disrupt the kind of balance and representation that you see in any given place, skewing results to help one party or the other.
NADWORNY: Interesting. OK. So an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll this week showed deepening voter disapproval of President Trump's handling of the war on Iran, as well as the economy. I mean, between this and the redistricting, does there seem to be a disconnect between how people are feeling and how politicians are responding?
GONYEA: I mean, that's nothing new, right? And, yes, it's still the case. People still vote to express their level of dissatisfaction or satisfaction with elected officials. They'll vote their pocketbook, gas prices, healthcare, an unpopular war - pick the issue. But if, at the end of the day, one party has been able to redraw maps in their favor, then that can act as a buffer on the kind of disapproval we're seeing now in, say, that new NPR/PBS/Marist poll, which puts the president's approval at a record low number. And, again, it's important to note that the final book hasn't been written yet on state-by-state redistricting. Democrats still have moves that they can make, too. There could be more to come. So we can't sit here today and say this is what the maps will look like.
NADWORNY: OK. But even with low approval ratings, overall, the president still has high popularity within the Republican Party. I mean, we saw that in elections this week, right?
GONYEA: We sure did, in the Ohio governor's race this past week. Vivek Ramaswamy, a big supporter of Trump, used Trump's early endorsement to easily win the GOP primary there. Then there's Indiana, a place where Trump was seeking retribution against Republicans - Republicans who, earlier this year, did not support redrawing district lines in the state to make it even more Republican. So here's a sample of one of the ads targeting the Republicans who defied Trump on redistricting in Indiana. In this case, it's an ad against GOP incumbent Linda Rogers.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Liberal rhino Linda Rogers. President Trump endorses Dr. Brian Schmutzler for state Senate.
GONYEA: And I can tell you, Linda Rogers lost that race. Overall, five challengers who had Trump's support beat Republican incumbents.
NADWORNY: OK. Meanwhile, we've got Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who just came back from this meeting with Pope Leo. The meeting took place after President Trump criticized the pope's ideas on foreign policy. Before he left for the trip, Rubio said the meeting was basically intended to smooth things over. This is what he told reporters.
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MARCO RUBIO: No. I mean, it's a trip we had planned from before, and obviously, we had some stuff that happened. And no, look, there's a lot to talk about with the Vatican. I'll give you one example.
NADWORNY: OK. So how did things go?
GONYEA: It all seemed very polite. Rubio told reporters later it was cordial, positive. They covered many topics. Gifts were exchanged. Rubio gave the pope a small, glass crystal football. The pope gave him a pen carved from olive wood...
NADWORNY: Wow.
GONYEA: ...Perhaps a symbolic olive branch.
NADWORNY: (Laughter) Yeah. That's NPR's Don Gonyea. Thanks for speaking to us today.
GONYEA: A pleasure. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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