The state is appealing a federal court ruling that gave North Carolina until Friday to draw new congressional voting districts.
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All of the other primaries, as well as a the $2 billion ConnectNC bond issue and a local referendum on a quarter-cent increase in the local sales tax, would still take place March 15.
The legislature Thursday also will consider a bill setting a new filing period and date for the congressional primaries. The 8th District is now represented by Republican Richard Hudson, of Concord. It also extended the district north to Johnston County. Patrick McHenry is so entrenched in the Republican party establishment that he has his allies in the legislature working to make sure he never sees the unemployment office, unlike so many of his constituents have since he took office.
For example, in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, former Rep. Deborah Ross, D-Wake, is running against three challengers.
A state Senate redistricting committee voted this afternoon to dramatically change the state’s political landscape.
In a column elsewhere on this page, Tom Campbell, a regular commentator on and observer of North Carolina’s fascinating political scene, compares the ever-shifting discussion of our congressional districts to a circus.
Speaking between meetings in Raleigh on Thursday, Rep. Sarah Stevens, R-90, said the Senate would spend the day dealing with the new maps while the House worked on plans for a special primary just for the congressional election.
Though the N.C. Supreme Court upheld the districts as lawful, they were struck down in U.S. District Court on February 5.
The black voting-age population would be 44 percent in the 1st District and 35 percent in the 12th District, according to the legislative document.
Three federal judges ruled two North Carolina districts violated the Voting Rights Act, including the 1st District. Roberts has not yet responded to the request, but could any time.
A new map that divides North Carolina’s 13 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives would mean hundreds of thousands of voters would have to size up new lawmakers they may not have known before. “My sense is the kind of turnout we see in primary runoffs is going to be very similar to the kind of turnout we would get in U.S. House primary contests”, Taylor said.
The 12th Congressional District would be strictly Mecklenburg County.
District 6, which is represented by U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, a Republican, now includes portions of Guilford, Alamance, Durham, Granville and Orange Counties and all of Caswell, Person, Rockingham, Surry and Stokes counties. “The committee adopted the criteria yesterday that made clear what would be used in the drawing of the maps and that was what was used”. “I think we should have non-partisan redistricting”.
The three-judge panel had ordered the state to redraw the 1st and 12th districts by Friday.
Pierce said that today will be the first time he will have the opportunity to listen to both sides argue their case.
If the assumption that a “competitive” election has results that range in the 45-55 range, then the potential 2012 presidential election results in the districts show only the new 13th District would be competitive, with the other twelve districts showing a 55 percent or greater for one party over the other. Changing the districts now would cost an estimated $9.5 million.
GOP legislators rolled out a map Wednesday that puts Reps.
“When you mess with one district, it affects every district across the state”, he said.
Under the new map, the 12th District would be reduced from a long, thin district that stretched several counties would entirely contained in Mecklenburg County. Hedrick, though, said Adams might be hesitant to file for the new 13th District, which would favor a Republican candidate.
The 13th District would be moved across the state, from the Raleigh and Wilson area to an area containing Davidson and Iredell counties.
And Sen. Jerry Tillman, said partisan gerrymandering is the way of politics.
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Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, one of the leaders of the redistricting committee, denied race was used in any way.
