North Carolina’s Republican-led legislature has officially passed a new congressional map, redrawing district lines in a way that hands the GOP another seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
On Wednesday, the state House approved the proposal with a 66–48 vote, finalizing the move one day after the Senate advanced it. Since redistricting measures in the state don’t require the governor’s signature, Democratic Governor Josh Stein has no authority to block it.
Under the new map, North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District—currently represented by Democrat Don Davis—will take on more Republican-leaning areas. That district narrowly voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, putting Davis in a tougher position heading into the next cycle. Meanwhile, the state’s 3rd District—considered one of the most conservative in North Carolina, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report—will take on more Democratic-leaning areas to balance the numbers.
Currently, Republicans control 10 of North Carolina’s 14 congressional seats, but this redraw is expected to push that number even higher before the 2026 midterms. “The motivation behind this redraw is simple and singular: drawing a new map that will bring an additional Republican seat to the North Carolina congressional delegation,” said GOP State Senator Ralph Hise, who led the redistricting process, during a committee hearing earlier this week.
Democrats have fiercely criticized the move, calling the maps racially discriminatory and accusing Republicans of undermining the voting strength of Black and Latino communities. Don Davis is one of only three Black members of Congress from the state. “You didn’t need to use racial data because every single member of this body knows about the Black population in the northeastern part of this state,” said Democratic State Representative Gloristine Brown on the House floor Wednesday.
The redistricting effort follows a broader strategy reportedly encouraged by Donald Trump, who has urged Republican-controlled states to engage in aggressive gerrymandering to solidify GOP dominance in Congress. Texas recently passed a new congressional map that could secure five additional Republican seats, while Missouri’s GOP leaders are pursuing similar tactics to gain another seat.
These moves are expected to trigger a “gerrymandering war” across the nation, as Democratic-controlled states like New York and California are already signaling plans to counter the GOP strategy with their own revised district maps.
