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.
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.
