The North Carolina Senate on Oct. 21 passed legislation to implement new district maps for elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, which will likely turn one longtime Democratic-leaning district into a Republican-leaning one.
Senate Bill 249, which would change the boundaries of North Carolina’s 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts—both located in the eastern part of the state—was passed in the Senate by a vote of 26-20 along party lines. The bill will now go to the Republican-led state House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass.
The bill would remove several African American-majority counties from the 1st Congressional District, which has been held by a Democrat in Congress in some configuration since 1899, and transfer them to the 3rd District. Some Republican-leaning areas of the 3rd District, such as New Hanover County where the coastal city of Wilmington is located, will join the district, and this is expected to turn it into a safe Republican seat, according to an analysis….