North Carolina GOP announce plans to vote on new House map amid
nationwide redistricting battle
[October 14, 2025]
By GARY D. ROBERTSON
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican legislative leaders
announced plans Monday to vote next week on redrawing the state's U.S.
House district map, taking up President Donald Trump’s call to secure
more GOP seats nationwide and resist rival moves by Democrats.
The push to retool already right-leaning boundaries for the
ninth-largest state comes amid a major party battle spanning several
states to revamp district lines to partisan advantage ahead of the 2026
midterm elections.
North Carolina Republicans created a map in 2023 that resulted in GOP
candidates winning 10 of the state’s 14 U.S. House seats in 2024. That
compared to a 7-7 seat split between Democrats and the GOP under the map
used in 2022.
Now only one of the House districts –- the 1st District currently
represented by Democratic Rep. Don Davis –- is considered a true swing
district and could be targeted by the GOP for an 11th seat. Davis won a
second term last year by less than 2 percentage points, so shifting
slightly portions of the district covering more than 20 northeastern
counties could help a Republican candidate in a strong GOP year. But it
could weaken districts held by GOP incumbents.
The state's top Republican legislators said their planned action follows
Trump’s "call urging legislatures across the country to take action to
nullify Democrat redistricting efforts.” Davis wasn't mentioned by name
in their news release.
Trump "earned a clear mandate from the voters of North Carolina and the
rest of the country, and we intend to defend it by drawing an additional
Republican Congressional seat," House Speaker Destin Hall said in the
release. Trump has won North Carolina's electoral votes all three times
that he's been on the presidential ballot.
But state House Democratic leader Robert Reives said Monday his GOP
colleagues “are stealing a congressional district in order to shield
themselves from accountability at the ballot box.”
Redistricting fight started in Texas, then spread
Trump kickstarted the national redistricting battle over the summer by
urging Republican-led Texas to reshape its U.S. House districts so the
GOP could win more seats next year. After overcoming a Democratic
walkout, Texas lawmakers redrew the districts to give Republicans a shot
at five more seats.
California Democrats reciprocated by passing their own redistricting
plan aimed at helping their party win five additional seats, a plan
needing voter approval in November to be implemented.
And lawmakers in Republican-led Missouri have approved revised U.S.
House districts intended to help Republicans pick up an additional seat
there. Other states also are considering redistricting, including
Republican-led Indiana and Kansas.
Some North Carolina GOP lawmakers focused complaints Monday on
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who advanced his state's redistricting
effort.
[to top of second column]
|
North Carolina state House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, left,
speaks while state Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, listens
during a news conference at the North Carolina Legislative Building
in Raleigh, N.C., Sept. 11, 2025 (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson, File)
“Picking up where Texas left off, we will hold votes in our October
session to redraw North Carolina’s congressional map to ensure Gavin
Newsom doesn’t decide the congressional majority,” Senate leader
Phil Berger said.
Responding on X, Newsom called Berger “another lap dog Republican”
and accused the GOP of “rigging elections and trying to cover it up
with lies.”
Democratic governor lacks veto power on district lines
North Carolina lawmakers already had planned for a multiday session
starting Oct. 20. Republicans hold majorities in both General
Assembly chambers and redistricting plans aren’t subject to
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s veto stamp. Candidate filing for 2026
is supposed to begin Dec. 1.
Addressing voters, Stein said in a statement that “shameless
politicians are abusing their power to take away yours” with a
redraw.
An intensely competitive midterm election looms in which Democrats
need to gain just three seats to take control of the House. The
president’s party historically has lost seats in midterm elections,
something Trump is trying to avoid. A Democratic takeover could
impede Trump’s agenda and lead to investigations of his actions, as
occurred during his first term in office.
Litigation could alter, derail some map changes
If and how North Carolina legislators create a more favorable redraw
may depend on pending litigation filed by the state NAACP, Common
Cause and voters challenging several current congressional
districts, including the one represented by Davis, one of three
Black representatives from North Carolina. The plaintiffs accuse
Republican lawmakers of racially discriminating against Black voters
by splitting or packing their voting blocs to help GOP candidates
win. The trial ended in July without an immediate ruling.
U.S. House districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after a
census. But some states have no prohibition on doing it more
frequently. And the U.S. Supreme Court has said there is no federal
prohibition on political gerrymandering, in which districts are
intentionally drawn to favor one party.
Opponents have filed lawsuits alleging Texas’ latest redistricting
unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of minority residents and that
Missouri’s mid-decade redistricting isn’t allowed under the state
constitution. Meanwhile, Utah’s Republican-led Legislature recently
endorsed an altered congressional map — though in response to a
court order, not Trump’s demands.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
