North Carolina Is Latest GOP-Controlled State To Announce a Gerrymander

North Carolina became the latest GOP-controlled state to announce it will gerrymander its congressional map to please President Donald Trump. 

Legislative leaders formally scheduled a vote for next week to redraw the state’s U.S. House districts — an extreme, mid-decade power grab aimed at cementing the GOP’s edge in Congress.

The move follows Trump’s call for red-state legislatures to “fix” congressional maps before 2026, a message embraced by Republican leaders from Texas to Missouri who have already enacted their own gerrymanders.

Under its most recent map, passed in 2023, North Carolina’s House delegation retains a 10-4 Republican majority, even though the state is closely divided between Republicans and Democrats. Now, GOP leaders want to go even further, targeting Congressional District 1, a Democratic-held, majority-minority district that could flip under GOP line changes.

While Republican Senate leader Phil Berger (R), who leads the state’s upper chamber, insisted the timing has nothing to do with Trump’s call, his own announcement tied the move directly to Trump’s call and suggested last month another redraw was inevitable.

“We have drawn four Congressional maps in the last six years in redistricting fights with Democrats because of their sue-until-blue strategy,” Berger posted on social media. “If we have to draw one more map this year, we will. That said, I’ve never spoken to President Trump about this or an endorsement.”

Berger’s denial statements only came after reports suggested he had agreed to redraw congressional map maps in exchange for Trump’s endorsement. 

Democrats have already called the mid-cycle scheme a direct threat to democracy, meant to entrench minority rule.

“If reports are true, North Carolina Republicans have truly stooped to a new low,” Rep. Deborah Ross (D) said following Berger’s statements. “From Texas to Missouri and now North Carolina, Republicans are waging a war on American voting rights because they know the truth — their policies are unpopular, their candidates are unlikable, and they can’t win a majority in Congress without stacking the deck in their favor.”

Governor Josh Stein (D) also denounced the GOP’s move.

“The General Assembly works for North Carolina, not Donald Trump,” Stein said. “The Republican leadership in the General Assembly has failed to pass a budget, failed to pay our teachers and law enforcement what they deserve, and failed to fully fund Medicaid. Now they are failing you, the voters. These shameless politicians are abusing their power to take away yours.”

Still, Stein’s role in the redistricting process is limited — under North Carolina law, the governor has no veto power over congressional maps. That means the GOP-controlled General Assembly can approve a new plan without executive sign off and override any opposition with a simple majority.

Voting rights advocates note that any new map advanced by the GOP will collide with ongoing federal litigation.

A three-judge panel in Winston-Salem has already heard claims that the 2023 maps illegally dilute Black voting strength. And if the court agrees, lawmakers could face a judicially imposed plan for 2026, before a new gerrymander.

Republicans, under Trump’s influence, appear determined to test those limits.