NC Republicans set to draw new congressional lines; Asheville to get new district
General Assembly Republicans are redrawing political districts in Buncombe County and statewide to grow their chances of winning elections
State legislators could start voting by Oct. 9 on new maps for Congress and state House and Senate. Those political lines would be used in the 2024 elections and last through the 2030 census.
Redistricting by the GOP-controlled General Assembly already happened in 2021. But the state Supreme Court, with a majority of Democrats, initially struck down the maps. This year, a new Republican-majority court reversed that decision.
"We are assuming the maps will look very much like the first set of maps drawn in 2021 that were ruled unconstitutional," said Democratic N.C. Sen. Julie Mayfield, whose 49th District includes western Buncombe County and Asheville.
The state's U.S. House seats have a 7-7 partisan split. But the 2021 map is designed to "give Republicans a 10-4 advantage in congressional seats," said Mayfield who sits on the Senate Redistricting Committee.
Co-chairing the committee are two WNC Republicans: Ralph Hise, who represents Mitchell and eight other northern mountain counties, and Warren Daniel, whose 46th District covers eastern Buncombe as well as McDowell and Burke counties.
Hise did not respond to Sept. 29 messages seeking comment.
Daniel said he was unable to comment about the possible shape of new districts "prior to the release of draft maps." It's not clear how many days before the vote that would happen.
The 11th Congressional District, which includes Buncombe, has been represented by Republicans since Mark Meadows won a first term in 2012.
In its present form, the district runs from the state's far west, through McDowell County on its eastern edge. The 2021 map renumbered it the 14th District and dramatically reconfigured the eastern border, leaving out McDowell in its lower portion. But the upper part of the 14th stretched much farther east, looping in almost all of Watauga County, leaving a hole for the home to GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx.
While the 2021 map is likely to reappear, there could be tweaks based on statewide political calculations, said WCU political science professor and redistricting expert Chris Cooper.
"The only way things might have changed is if the Republicans believe they can squeeze another seat in with the change in the Supreme Court partisanship, or if the specifics of the incumbents who are currently in office move things in one direction or the other," Cooper said.
Changes to Buncombe's three state House districts, which are all Democratic, and two state Senate districts, which are split, will likely be less dramatic. That is because of a court ruling favoring the clustering of counties, said local General Assembly members, such as Caleb Rudow, who represents northwestern Asheville and Buncombe in N.C. House District 116.
"But who knows? The maps are going to be drawn behind closed doors and Democrats don’t have any input," Rudow said.
Mayfield said changes by Republicans to those districts "might be small."
"But they will be impactful, generally assuring themselves more safe seats," she said.
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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at [email protected], 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC Republicans to draw new congressional lines; Asheville's district?
