A panel of federal judges handed North Carolina Republicans a legal victory on Wednesday, allowing them to use a redrawn congressional map that flips one House seat in a swing district red.
The ruling further bolsters the Republican Party’s mid-decade redistricting agenda as President Donald Trump seeks to maintain the House GOP majority leading up to the 2026 midterm elections.
North Carolina Senate Leader Phil Berger hailed the three-judge panel’s decision.
“As Democrat-run states like California do everything in their power to undermine [Trump’s] administration and agenda, North Carolina Republicans went to work to protect the America First Agenda,” Berger said on X.
“North Carolinians voted to send President Trump to the White House in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and this new map reflects that support,” the Republican lawmaker added. “President Trump deserves a Congress that will fight for American citizens and move his agenda forward. Today’s decision thwarts the radical left’s latest attempt to circumvent the will of the people.”
The Republican-proposed map was challenged in two separate lawsuits.
Led by North Carolina’s NAACP and others, the first suit alleged the map violated the First Amendment because the state’s “Black Belt” region was targeted by Republican lawmakers. The second suit was filed by voters who, in part, argued that the use of five-year-old census data due to the mid-decade redistricting push is unconstitutional. They also argued Republican lawmakers relied on race in drawing the new map.
The judges denied the plaintiffs’ request for preliminary injunctions in both cases.
NORTH CAROLINA SENATE APPROVES NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP TARGETING DON DAVIS
Redistricting typically occurs at the start of every decade, once the census is conducted. However, Trump mandated that Republicans keep Democrats from gaining more seats in the lower chamber ahead of time.
The map targets North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, currently represented by Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), located in the state’s Black Belt. The swing seat has historically been held by black members of Congress for the past three decades. Republicans currently hold 10 out of 14 seats in North Carolina’s congressional delegation, but the new map could hand them another seat.
