In a major win for Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, the North Carolina House has approved a new congressional map, likely securing another U.S. House seat for the GOP. The Republican-controlled legislature passed the new map along party lines, with a vote of 66-48, following its approval by the state Senate just a day earlier.
The shift in the map is expected to favor Republicans, increasing their current 10-4 advantage in North Carolina’s congressional delegation to 11-3. As the map heads to completion, thanks to state law preventing Democratic Governor Josh Stein from vetoing it, the focus now turns to any potential legal challenges. But for Republicans, it’s a decisive move.
President Donald Trump has long urged Republican-led states to redraw congressional maps to give the GOP an edge in the midterms, and North Carolina has followed suit. Brenden Jones, the Republican Majority Leader in the state House, wasted no time celebrating the map’s passage, asserting, “It’s a fact that we will send one more Republican to Congress from this great state.”
The new map is a direct blow to Democratic Rep. Don Davis, whose district will shift from one that voted for Trump by just three percentage points in 2020 to one that will likely vote for him by 11 points in 2024. In response, Davis is considering a run in the newly drawn 3rd district, which also leans Republican.
Democrats have not taken kindly to the redistricting, with State House Democratic Leader Robert Reives decrying the map as a threat to “our independence, our democracy.” Reives warned, “I would ask that you mark this day, because one day they’re coming to you, they’re going to ask you to do something that you just can’t do.”
In contrast, Republican state Senator Phil Berger defended the map, stating it “respects the will of the North Carolina voters who sent President Trump to the White House three times.”
This victory for the GOP follows similar moves in Texas, Missouri, and now North Carolina, where new maps are expected to favor Republicans in the upcoming elections. Other red states like Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Nebraska, and Louisiana are also moving forward with redistricting plans that are expected to tilt the balance in the GOP’s favor. Meanwhile, Democrat-led states like California, New York, and Illinois are also redrawing maps, but in ways that are expected to benefit the Democrats.
With this new map, the GOP is poised to expand its hold on the House, and the battle over redistricting is far from over. One thing is clear: Trump’s influence continues to shape the political landscape, as red states solidify their advantage in the upcoming midterms.
