Previous maps of the state drawn by Republicans were already highly skewed, allowing Republicans to win 10 of the 14 House seats in 2024, despite North Carolina being a swing state.
Will California support redistricting under Proposition 50?
Proposition 50 has sparked debate over California’s redistricting. It will play a key role in determining which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Republican-dominated North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday passed a new congressional map aimed at giving the party one more seat in the House, extending President Donald Trump’s campaign to use partisan redistricting to help Republicans maintain control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections.
The state’s previous map, approved by Republicans just two years ago, was already highly skewed, allowing Republicans to win 10 of the 14 U.S. House seats in 2024, despite North Carolina’s status as a close state. Gov. Josh Stein is a Democrat, but state law does not allow him to veto redistricting plans.
North Carolina is the third Republican-controlled state this year to heed President Trump’s call for unusual redistricting in mid-decade, following Texas and Missouri. Other Republican states, including Ohio, Kansas and Indiana, are planning or considering similar moves, while California Democrats are moving forward with their own redistricting plans to counter Texas’ maps.
Redistricting typically occurs only once every 10 years after the U.S. Census to account for population movement. But the Texas Republican Party’s decision to approve new maps aimed at flipping five Democratic seats has sparked a national redistricting battle.
Republicans, who control more states than Democrats, appear poised to eventually pick up seats. Next year’s House elections are expected to be fiercely contested, with Democrats needing to flip just three seats held by Republicans since 2024 to regain the majority.
The U.S. Senate is considered a long shot for Democrats, who will need to defend several vulnerable seats while also winning races in solidly Republican states to gain a majority.
Rep. Don Davis, D-North Carolina, who is likely to lose his seat under the new maps, called redistricting “beyond common sense” in a statement.
President Trump praised the map in a social media post, and Destin Hall, the Republican speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, reposted the message, adding, “We are putting America First in North Carolina!”
