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North Carolina Republican leaders said Monday they will redraw the state’s congressional map to add another GOP seat, joining a nationwide effort to fortify the party’s slim U.S. House majority before next year’s midterm elections.
“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,” North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall said in a statement.
Republicans currently hold 10 of North Carolina’s 14 U.S. House seats, with Democratic Rep. Don Davis’s 1st District viewed as the state’s most competitive. GOP lawmakers said they will convene next week to begin debating a new map. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein has no veto power over redistricting legislation.
The move reflects an aggressive, mid-decade redistricting push by both parties — a rare step outside the usual post-Census cycle. It began in Texas, where former President Donald Trump successfully urged Republican lawmakers to approve a map that could net the party up to five additional House seats.
In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers countered by advancing new district lines intended to offset potential GOP gains, though voters must approve the plan next month.
“We are doing everything we can to protect President Trump’s agenda, which means safeguarding Republican control of Congress,” said North Carolina Senate Leader Phil Berger. “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.”
Democrats blasted the plan as a partisan power grab.
“The General Assembly works for North Carolina, not Donald Trump,” Stein said in a statement. “Republican leaders have failed to pass a budget, failed to pay our teachers and law enforcement what they deserve, and failed to fully fund Medicaid. Now they are failing voters by abusing their power to take away your vote.”
North Carolina’s decision follows similar efforts in Missouri, where GOP lawmakers approved a new map targeting Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City district. Opponents there are seeking a referendum to block the measure.
In Ohio, Republicans have refused to participate in a bipartisan redistricting commission, setting the stage for a map even more favorable to the GOP. Legislatures in other Republican-led states — including Indiana, Kansas and Florida — are also considering mid-decade redraws.
