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One of the members of Congress most impacted by North Carolina’s new congressional map has made a decision about his political future while the other is debating what congressional district to run in.
The two members most impacted are Democrat Rep. Don Davis, who represents District 1, and Rep. Greg Murphy, a Republican who represents District 3. Both districts are in eastern North Carolina.
The new map swaps a number of counties, resulting in District 1 becoming much more Republican and harder for Davis to win and District 3 losing some of its Republican counties but still remaining a pretty solid Republican district.
On Wednesday Murphy announced that, despite major changes to the district, he will run for reelection in District 3.
“This has been very hard. I’ll be very open about that because literally the new state maps split the district right in half,” Murphy told Spectrum News 1. “I’m a data person. We went down and did the data and looked at a lot of this stuff and I’m going to run as the incumbent in District 3.”
Murphy said he was disappointed there were so many changes to his current district resulting in the coastal counties moving into District 1. Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico and Onslow counties move from District 3 to District 1.
“I wasn’t happy about it. I’ll be very transparent about that. These are interests I’ve represented for a very long time,” Murphy said. “This is kind of like many times you’re all of a sudden with somebody, with all these groups and then arbitrary lines change it the other way.”
Murphy said the White House didn’t have influence on what district he decided to run in.
“They came and gave us an idea this was going to be redistricted,” Murphy said. “But they were going to support me regardless of where I went. They’re supporting me as the individual, not as a district person, which I appreciate tremendously. And so they had no undue influence on as to where I was going to pick.”
Davis is also debating his political future. In an interview with Spectrum News 1 he said he hasn’t decided what district he will run in.
“We’re going to look at both districts, which we’re in the process of beginning to do,” Davis said. “We’re going to look at all kinds of factors, analysis.”
Under the new map the 1st District doesn’t include Wilson, Lenoir or Wayne counties. It also doesn’t include Green County, where Davis lives.
Davis said he hopes to make a decision in the “near future.”
In a statement after the General Assembly’s vote on Wednesday, Davis called it “one of the darkest moments of our state’s history.”
“This is not what people want. People want us to stay focused on their issues,” Davis told Spectrum News 1.
The Republican-controlled General Assembly took up mid-decade redistricting following similar actions by other states. Texas started the process after urging from President Donald Trump.
The new North Carolina map results in 11 districts heavily favored for Republicans and three for Democrats. That’s despite many political analysts who label the state as a toss-up or lean Republican.
If Davis decides to run in District 3 it would result in a matchup between two incumbents: Davis and Murphy.
“This decision was made solely upon what I believe, what my team believed was best for us. If there is a big matchup, I think it’s unfortunate. Don and I are on friendly terms, but you know it is what it is. That’s what politics is all about,” Murphy said.
“I would say that Rep. Murphy, he’s been in tune and we’ve actually worked on issues together,” Davis said. “But at the end of the day, this is now about looking at the map and allowing a route that we believe best represents the voice of the people of eastern North Carolina and so everyone can be heard. To me all options are on the table.”
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Reuben Jones
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