After
compromising, lawmakers adopt new congressional map
Backing
away from a bid to redraw the state’s congressional
districts to give Democrats a better chance of winning seats,
the Senate on Nov. 21 agreed to accept a map drawn up by the
politically divided House that largely protects Republican and
Democratic incumbents. The development came after Senate
leaders conceded that any plan they proposed favoring
Democratic challengers would fare little chance of passage in
the House.
The House plan, adopted on Nov. 15, protects incumbents in 11
of the state's 12 existing districts. It does give small
boosts to Charlotte-area Cong. Mel Watt (D-12th) and Sue
Myrick (R-9th), although Myrick's district shifts slightly to
the east to include part of Union County. One substantial
change in the map gives Cong. Robin Hayes (R-8th) more
Democratic voters by including in his district parts of
Charlotte and Fayetteville.
Most observers believe that the new congressional map, which
still must be reviewed and approved by the U.S. Justice
Department to ensure it doesn’t dilute black voter strength,
could change the makeup of the state's congressional
delegation from a 7-5 Republican majority to a 7-6 Democratic
edge, assuming that the state’s new 13th District will be
won by a Democrat and that a Democrat will unseat Hayes in the
8th District.
The 13th District, which North Carolina gained as a result of
the 2000 census, will include parts of Raleigh and arch
northward to include Person and Caswell counties along the
Virginia line and parts of Granville, Alamance, and Rockingham
counties before dropping down to include parts of Guilford
County, including precincts in Greensboro. Below is a list of
where counties are placed in the new congressional map:
1st District — Bertie, Chowan, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene,
Halifax, Hertford, Martin, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans,
Warren, Washington, and portions of Beaufort, Granville,
Jones, Lenoir, Nash, Pitt, Vance, Wayne, and Wilson counties;
2nd District — Franklin, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, and
portions of Chatham, Cumberland, Nash, Sampson, Vance, and
Wake counties
3rd District — Camden, Carteret, Currituck, Dare, Hyde,
Onslow, Pamlico, Tyrrell, and portions of Beaufort, Craven,
Jones, Lenoir, Nash, and Wilson counties;
4th District — Durham, Orange, and portions of Chatham and
Wake counties;
5th District — Alexander, Ashe, Davie, Stokes, Surry,
Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and portions of Forsyth and
Rockingham counties;
6th District — Moore, Randolph, and portions of Alamance,
Davidson, Guilford, and Rowan counties;
7th District — Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover,
Pender, Robeson, and portions of Cumberland, Duplin, Sampson,
and Scotland counties;
8th District — Anson, Hoke, Montgomery, Richmond, Stanly,
and portions of Cabarrus, Cumberland, Mecklenburg, and Union
counties;
9th District — Portions of Gaston, Mecklenburg, and Union
counties;
10th District — Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland,
Lincoln, Mitchell, and portions of Gaston and Iredell
counties;
11th District — Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood,
Henderson, Jackson, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Polk, Swain,
Transylvania, Yancey, and portions of Rutherford counties;
12th District — Portions of Cabarrus, Davidson, Forsyth,
Guilford, Mecklenburg, and Rowan counties;
13th District — Caswell, Person, and portions of Alamance,
Granville, Guilford, Rockingham, and Wake counties.
For complete information on
congressional redistricting, including detailed maps, go to: www.ncleg.net/gascripts/geography/proposed_plans.asp?PlanName=Congress_ZeroDeviation
For complete information on Senate redistricting, including
detailed maps, go to:
www.ncleg.net/gascripts/geography/proposed_plans.asp?PlanName=NC_Senate_Plan_1C
For complete information on House redistricting, including
detailed maps, go to:
www.ncleg.net/gascripts/geography/proposed_plans.asp?PlanName=Sutton_House_Plan_3
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