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New
congressional district likely will center on the Triangle
 Leaders of the
House and Senate redistricting committees say the state’s
13th congressional seat likely will be centered around the
Triangle, which grew 39 percent in population during the
1990s. The Triangle’s two current congressional districts,
the 2nd held by Cong. Bob Etheridge and the 4th held by Cong.
David Price, both Democrats, are well above the target
population of about 619,000 people. Both of those districts
will have to shrink some.
Although the General Assembly is weeks or even months away
from adopting a redistricting plan, the process begins with
determining where the boundaries of the new congressional
district.
Because of rapid population growth over the past decade,
almost one-fourth of voters in the 4th District and almost
one-fifth of voters in the 5th District will have to be
shifted to other districts.
In the maps at right, areas of the state that have gained
population are in red. Light blue areas have lost population.
Maps courtesy of N.C. General Assembly.
The first goal in redistricting is to protect incumbents, a
job that was made the more difficult by the shifting
populations within the state House and Senate districts.
Protecting congressional incumbents was made harder when
Etheridge announced he would not make a run for the U.S.
Senate. The General Assembly has not set a deadline for
approving redistricting plans for Congress or for legislative
districts. Redistricting leaders say they might be done by
late July or August if the General Assembly stays in session,
or the legislature could take a break and return in the fall
to approve the new districts.
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