Gerrymandered districts are no guarantee of safety. Democrats were tossed out of districts they held for years.
I prefer districts drawn to nonpartisan and objective criteria that value fair representation, territorial contiguity and ensure competitive elections. Partisan advantage and incumbent protection should be irrelevant to the redistricting process.
In other words, every voter should get the chance to see his candidate win. In gerrymandered districts, people of the minority party stay home because their vote counts for nothing.
That needs to change.
They are, though, most of the time.
Look at Charlie Rangel and how he just won.