North Carolina Lawmakers Announce Redistricting Effort

The Republican redistricting effort has once again expanded, as the North Carolina state legislature announced on Monday that it will begin its own redistricting process. 

According to the New York Times, Phil Berger, the state Senate leader, and Destin Hall, the speaker of the state House of Representatives, issued a joint statement announcing they would hold a vote on beginning a rare, mid-decade redistricting effort. North Carolina is unusual in that it has a Republican state legislature and a Democratic governor. While Gov. Josh Stein has vetoed efforts by the Republican state legislature to ban diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the state constitution prohibits the governor from vetoing redistricting plans. 

North Carolina’s congressional maps are already heavily gerrymandered, with Republicans controlling 10 of the state’s 14 House seats. The state legislature intends to create one more Republican seat, though it has yet to reveal which district it’ll break up.

“President 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,” Hall wrote in the statement. “Our state won’t stand by while Democrats like Gavin Newsom redraw districts to aid in their effort to obtain a majority in the U.S. House. We will not allow them to undermine the will of the voters and President Trump’s agenda.”

Y’all, the Republican redistricting effort might actually be driving me insane. You can’t play dirty and then get mad when the opposition changes their tactics in response. 

This whole redistricting saga began as a result of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott capitulating to the Trump administration’s request to begin a redistricting effort despite the state having already redrawn its maps in 2021. The GOP holds a narrow majority in the House, with Democrats only needing a net gain of three seats to flip control.

The Texas redistricting saga was fraught, as state Democrats filibustered and even left the state to deny the state House the quorum necessary to vote on the new map. Even after the Democrats returned, the Texas Republicans held Rep. Nicole Collier as a political prisoner on the House floor when she refused to agree to police surveillance ahead of the vote. The map, which adds five new seats in districts Trump won in the 2024 election, eventually passed through the state legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Abbott. 

The California redistricting effort Hall referenced in his statement only happened in response to the Texas map. California Gov. Gavin Newsom launched the Election Rigging Response Act in August to negate the gains made in the Texas map. On Nov. 4, California voters will decide whether control of the state’s maps remains with an independent redistricting committee or temporarily transfers to the state legislature until 2030. If voters approve the transfer of control, Newsom intends to implement a congressional map that will neutralize the gains made in Texas. 

The underlying premise seems to be that the Trump administration and the Republican Party are aware that their agenda is deeply unpopular with the American people and have to engage in an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting campaign to maintain power. I’m just saying, for all the talk of a “red wave” in the 2022 midterms, we didn’t see Blue states scrambling to redraw their congressional maps. While this is largely due to many Blue states having independent commissions in charge of redistricting, President Joe Biden could’ve easily pulled a Trump and tried to convince states to do what Newsom is doing now. 

The Republican redistricting effort is not a move made by a party that’s confident they have the American people behind it. This is the work of weak-willed, power-hungry individuals who have no problem disenfranchising voters who don’t agree with them. 

SEE ALSO:

Texas GOP Reveals Who Drew Map, DOJ Order In Redistricting Lawsuit

President Trump Eyes Florida And Indiana In Redistricting Push

California Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Bill Launching Redistricting Effort

Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe Sets Special Session For Redistricting

Texas Democrats Will Return To State After Special Session Ends

Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom Counters Texas Redistricting Effort With One Of His Own

Redistricting: Majority Black Voting Maps Rejected In Louisiana

Critics Call Texas Governor’s New Congressional Map Gerrymandering

US Senator John Cornyn, FBI Team Up To Hunt Texas Democrats

Texas State Dems Break Quorum To Prevent Redistricting Vote

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Sues To Remove Democratic Rep In Redistricting Fight

Racial Gerrymandering Lawsuit Filed Over Texas Voting Map