Merged Congressional Districts
The North Carolina Senate passed new maps Monday in the first step toward the Republican-led General Assembly positioning the GOP to gain a seat in Congress. The new maps alter two of the state’s 14 congressional districts, both in the eastern part of the state. The map above shows the proposed changes: The current District 1 (shown in purple) and District 3 (shown in yellow) would be redrawn. The new District 1 would shift east toward the coast into areas marked with dots, while the new District 3 would consolidate inland into areas shown with horizontal lines. These changes would make District 1, currently held by Rep. Don Davis (D-Snow Hill), more favorable to Republicans. Davis won a close race in the current configuration last election. District 3 would remain a safe Republican seat for Rep. Greg Murphy (R-Greenville).
The move comes as President Donald Trump has encouraged Republican-led states to redraw maps to maximize GOP control of Congress.