North Carolina GOP poised to redraw House map, aiming to secure another
seat for Trump
[October 22, 2025]
By GARY D. ROBERTSON
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican legislative leaders were
poised Wednesday to complete a retooling of part of the state's U.S.
House map in hopes of picking up an additional GOP seat and helping
President Donald Trump retain majority control of the lower chamber of
Congress in next year's midterm elections.
The state House scheduled floor debate and votes on proposed boundaries
that if enacted would attempt to impede next year's reelection of
Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis, who currently represents more than 20
northeastern counties. The state Senate already approved the plan along
party lines on Tuesday.
Republicans hold majorities in both General Assembly chambers, and
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein is unable under state law to use his veto
stamp on redistricting maps. So the GOP’s proposal would be implemented
following affirmative House votes — barring successful litigation likely
filed by Democrats or voting rights advocates to stop it. Candidate
filing for 2026 is scheduled to begin Dec. 1.
Republican lawmakers have said the proposed changes attempt to satisfy
Trump’s call in GOP-led states to secure more seats for the party
nationwide and retain its grip on Congress and advance his agenda.
Democrats are resisting those attempts with rival moves and need to gain
just three more seats to seize control of the House. The president’s
party historically has lost seats in midterm elections.
“The purpose of this map was to pick up a Republican seat. We’ve stated
that over and over again,” state Sen. Ralph Hise, who helped draw the
altered map, said this week.
The national redistricting battle began over the summer when Trump urged
Republican-led Texas to reshape its U.S. House districts. After Texas
lawmakers acted, California Democrats reciprocated by passing their own
plan, which still needs voter approval in November.
Under the replacement map, which would exchange several counties in
Davis' current 1st District with another coastal district, the proposed
map would favor Republicans winning 11 of the state's 14 congressional
district seats — statewide election data suggests — up from the 10 they
now hold.
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A protester opposed to the proposed redistricting map is escort out
by law enforcement during a House Redistricting Committee meeting
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
Davis is one of North Carolina’s three Black representatives, and
his 1st District includes several majority Black counties. Map
critics have suggested upcoming lawsuits could accuse Republicans of
creating an illegal racial gerrymander in a district that's elected
African Americans to the U.S. House continuously since 1992.
Davis won his second term in 2024 by less than 2 percentage points,
and the 1st District was one of 13 congressional districts won both
by a Democratic House member and by Trump, according to the Center
for Politics at the University of Virginia.
Davis on Tuesday called the proposed map "beyond the pale.”
Hundreds of Democratic and liberal activists swarmed the legislative
complex this week registering their opposition to the plan. They
blasted GOP legislators for doing Trump's bidding and criticized
what they called a power grab through a speedy and unfair
redistricting process.
“If you pass this, your legacy will be shredding the Constitution,
destroying democracy,” Karen Ziegler with the grassroots group
Democracy Out Loud, told senators this week. Instead, she added,
“we're letting Donald Trump decide who represents the people of
North Carolina.”
Democrats allege the proposed map creates a racial gerrymander that
would dismantle decades of voting rights progress for those who live
in what’s known as North Carolina’s “Black Belt” region. Republicans
counter no such gerrymandering occurred and mention that no racial
data was used in forming the districts.
State GOP leaders defended their actions, saying Trump won the
state’s electoral votes all three times that he’s run for president
— albeit narrowly — and thus merits more potential support in
Congress to carry out his agenda.
“It is something that is an appropriate thing for us to do under the
law and in conjunction with basically listening to the will of the
people,” Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters.
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