RALEIGH — House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls) announced the establishment of a House Select Committee on Redistricting and named the assigned committee members on Wednesday.
The committee will be co-chaired by Reps. Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke) and Brenden Jones (R-Columbus).
The committee’s webpage does not yet list any upcoming meeting dates or documents. A final report of the committee’s work is due on May 1, 2026.
Members include Republican Reps. Allen Chesser (Nash), Brian Echevarria (Cabarrus), Jimmy Dixon (Duplin), Chris Humphrey (Lenoir), Neal Jackson (R-Moore), Heather Rhyne (Lincoln) and Carson Smith (Pender).
Democratic members include Reps. Cynthia Ball (Wake), Becky Carney (Mecklenburg), Aisha Dew (Mecklenburg), Frances Jackson (Cumberland), Robert Reives (Wake), and Shelly Willingham (Edgecombe).
The Senate has not yet announced a similar committee.
The committee’s creation follows an announcement earlier in the week by Hall and Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) of their intention to add a 14th Republican Congressional District to support President Donald Trump’s mandate and “thwart blue state attempts to steal Congress.”
“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 said on Oct. 13. “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.
“President Trump delivered countless victories during his first term in office, and nine months into his second term he continues to achieve unprecedented wins. We are doing everything we can to protect President Trump’s agenda, which means safeguarding Republican control of Congress.”
Berger said. “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 have pushed back on the plan to redistrict.
“NC Republicans can’t manage to pass a budget but they will cheat voters and redraw a congressional district,” wrote Rep. Marcia Morey (D-Durham) in a post on X.
Gov. Josh Stein criticized Republicans, saying they should be focusing on passing a budget instead.
North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton responded to the news by calling Hall and Berger “bootlickers.”
Both chambers are expected to take up the issue of redistricting when they return for their scheduled session on Oct. 20.
