North Carolina GOP considers redistricting as part of Trump’s House strategy

Republican leaders in North Carolina’s GOP-dominated Legislature say they will vote next week to redraw the state’s congressional district map in the presidential election. that of Donald Trump a national effort to create more right-wing seats in the House before next year’s midterm elections.

When lawmakers from key battleground states in the Southeast meet in special session next Monday, they will become the latest state to wade into the high-stakes political battle over congressional redistricting, pitting Trump and the Republican Party against Democrats.

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina aim to follow in the footsteps of Republican-controlled Texas and Missouri, which passed new congressional maps in the past two months.

VOTING UNDERWAY IN ELECTIONS THAT COULD DETERMINE IF REPUBLICANS HOLD THE HOUSE AT NEXT YEAR’S MID-TERM

North Carolina State House Speaker Destin Hall, left, speaks as State Senate Leader Phil Berger listens during a news conference at the North Carolina Legislative Building in Raleigh, North Carolina, September 11, 2025. (Gary D. Robertson/AP Photo)

The moves are part of a broader effort by the Republican Party to strengthen its razor-thin House majority to maintain control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the ruling party traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Democrats need just three seats to regain control of the House.

Trump and his political team aim to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats won back the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

“We will stand with the president, defend the Republican majority and secure an additional Republican seat in Congress,” North Carolina Republican House Speaker Destin Hall said Monday.

WHICH STATES ARE NEXT IN THE CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRIBUTION BATTLE

North Carolina’s congressional delegation was split 7-7 between Democrats and Republicans until GOP state lawmakers created a new map two years ago that allowed Republicans to capture 10 of the state’s 14 congressional districts in last year’s elections.

The latest new map that Republicans aim to pass in the state Legislature will likely target Democratic Rep. Ron Davis, whose district is the only one in North Carolina considered a true swing seat.

Trump narrowly won North Carolina in his 2016 presidential election victory, his 2020 re-election defeat, and his 2024 recapture of the White House.

Then-Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Greensboro Coliseum on March 2, 2024, in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Hall said the president “has earned a clear mandate from voters in North Carolina and across the country, and we intend to defend it by attracting an additional Republican seat in Congress.”

But North Carolina House Democratic Leader Robert Reives accused Republicans in the legislature of “stealing a congressional district in order to shield themselves from accountability at the ballot box.”

And Democratic Gov. Josh Stein emphasized in a statement that “the General Assembly works for North Carolina, not Donald Trump.”

“These shameless politicians are abusing their power to take away yours. I will always fight for you because voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around,” the governor added, pointing to Republican state lawmakers.

Trump’s shadow looms over key 2025 elections

But the redistricting map that will likely pass the GOP-dominated Legislature next week will not be vetoed by the governor.

Democrats are trying to fight back across the country.

California state lawmakers approved a special ballot proposal last November to gain voter approval to temporarily hijack the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return congressional map-drawing power to the Democratic-dominated Legislature.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California speaks during a congressional redistricting event, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)

The effort in California, which aims to create five additional Democratic-leaning districts and counter the shift of five seats to Texas, is being led by the two-term governor. Gavin Newsomwho is considered a likely Democratic presidential candidate in 2028.

And Democrats in very blue Maryland and Illinois are considering redistricting.

Even before Trump launched his redistricting campaign, Ohio was under court order to redraw its maps. That could strengthen Republicans in a battleground state that now leans to the right.

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And Republicans in GOP-dominated states Indiana, Florida and Nebraska are also mulling congressional redistricting.

Meanwhile, Democrats could win a seat in Republican-dominated Utah. This, after the state Legislature drew new maps following a court ruling that lawmakers ignored an independent, voter-approved commission four years ago to prevent partisan gerrymandering.