Through a series of articles we call The State, the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Advocacy and Political Affairs team is providing analysis related to "the state of" advocacy and political trends impacting farmers, ranchers and other rural Americans.

The trove of data from the much-delayed U.S. census is starting to be unveiled, revealing, in terms of politics, which states are winners and which are losers with the reapportionment of 435 House seats in Congress. Early projections showed several states in play, but the late-April announcement by the U.S. Census Bureau had far fewer states impacted than originally estimated.

First Step: Reapportionment

Six states are gaining seats, with Texas seen as the biggest winner, gaining two additional congressional seats. Five other states will have one additional representative: North Carolina and Florida on the Eastern seaboard, along with Oregon, Montana and Colorado out West. This shift in congressional representation continues a multi-decade trend of the U.S. population moving toward the Southern and Western states – and away from the Northeast and the upper Midwest.

The U.S. Census Bureau made headlines in announcing that California, which has the largest delegation in Congress with 53 representatives, would be giving up a congressional seat for the very first time since entering the union.

Other states losing a congressional seat include Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and New York.