Obama to join reform group

Former Attorney General Eric Holder is set to head up a new Democratic group focusing on redistricting reform and President Obama will likely join his former administration colleague when he leaves office next January. Called the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, the group "will coordinate campaign strategy, direct fundraising, organize ballot initiatives, and put together legal challenges to state redistricting maps," Politico reports, in an effort to fight the gerrymandering that has traditionally benefited the Republican Party in state elections. Obama has been receiving updates on the group's progress since it formed early this summer, and The Washington Post says his "decision to back such a broad, organizing political effort after leaving the White House marks a rare ... step in the modern era."