Raleigh, North Carolina – RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republican lawmakers displayed a redrawn U.S. House district map for North Carolina on Thursday, seeking to help President Donald Trump retain GOP control of Congress by trying to thwart the Democrat’s re-election now in the state’s only swing seat.
Republican Party leaders in the House and Senate revealed Proposed limits Before the General Assembly session next week, to enter the national battle Redistricting in the middle of the decade Democrats and Republicans are vying to secure electoral advantages from coast to coast, including Texas and California. Republicans announced earlier this week Lawmakers will return to Raleigh to discuss and vote on the plan presented in response to Trump’s call to secure more GOP seats before the 2026 midterm elections.
A highly competitive midterm election looms, with Democrats needing to win just three seats to take control of the House. Historically, the president’s party has lost seats in midterm elections, something Trump is trying to avoid.
Republicans already approved a North Carolina state map in 2023 that resulted in GOP candidates winning 10 of the 14 U.S. House seats in 2024. That compares to a 7-7 seat split between Democrats and GOP under the map used in 2022.
As expected, Thursday’s boundaries, based on previous election results, appear to focus on helping the GOP win the northeastern North Carolina 1st District seat it currently holds Democratic Rep. Don Davis. He won a second term in 2024 by less than two percentage points.
The reorganized 1st District boundaries would include several coastal counties and remove others inland — including Greene County, Davis’s original county — to create a more right-leaning 1st District. Greene and others will be placed in the reworked 3rd District currently represented by Republican Rep. Greg Murphy, which based on the election results may appear less GOP friendly.
Other areas to the west will remain intact. Based on the results of several previous statewide elections attached to the map, Republicans would have a good chance of winning 11 of North Carolina’s 14 seats.
Republican lawmakers offered no official comment on the proposal while inviting the public to comment online. But with an image of the new map, Senate Leader Phil Berger wrote Thursday on X that the General Assembly is “ready to help Republicans secure Congress and advance Donald Trump’s agenda!”
The Republican Party has a majority in the state House of Representatives and Senate. The state constitution bars Democratic Gov. Josh Stein from vetoing redistricting plans.
The national redistricting battle began over the summer when Trump urged Republican-led Texas to redistrict its U.S. House districts. After Texas lawmakers acted, California Democrats responded in kind By passing their own plan that still needs voter approval in November.
Other North Carolina Democrats criticized Republicans for trying to help Trump, and accused the GOP of trying to steal the seat won by Davis, one of North Carolina’s three black state representatives. The current 1st District contains a few majority black districts. The retooled 1st District could lead to a lawsuit alleging illegal racial bias.
Redistricting will happen even as North Carolina GOP lawmakers are more than three months late passing a state budget and unable to finalize how to boost Medicaid spending.
“Instead, we’re back talking about redistricting because Republicans think if they can’t win fairly, they’ll flip things around and cheat and win,” Democratic state Rep. Sarah Crawford said Thursday at a state Democratic Party news conference.
Davis, a former state legislator and Air Force veteran, mentioned regional concerns in a social media post Thursday evening.
Eastern North Carolina families are “struggling and feeling broken by Washington, D.C.,” Davis wrote on X. I understand these concerns very well. As we look at new congressional districts, I consider each option, drawing on my local roots, experience in the military, and commitment to education.”