RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina’s two top Republicans will hold votes next week to try and redraw the state’s Congressional maps in order to save one Republican seat.
In a statement on Monday, state Senate President Phil Berger said the move is an answer to a call to action from President Donald Trump.
“President Trump delivered countless victories during his first term in office and nine months into his second term, he continues to achieve unprecedented wins,” Berger said in his statement. “We are doing everything we can to protect President Trump’s agenda, which means safeguarding Republican control of Congress.
“Picking up where Texas left off, we will hold votes in our October session to redraw North Carolina’s congressional map to ensure Gavin Newsom doesn’t decide the congressional majority,” he continued in his statement.
Republican House Speaker Destin Hall echoed Berger’s sentiment, stating, “President Trump earned a clear mandate from the voters of North Carolina and the rest of the country and we intend to defend it by drawing an additional Republican Congressional seat.
“Our state won’t stand by while Democrats like Gavin Newsom redraw districts to aid in their effort to obtain a majority in the U.S. House,” Hall continued in his statement. “We will not allow them to undermine the will of the voters and President Trump’s agenda.”
In response to Berger and Hall, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein said in a statement, “The General Assembly works for North Carolina, not Donald Trump. The Republican leadership in the General Assembly has failed to pass a budget, failed to pay our teachers and law enforcement what they deserve, and failed to fully fund Medicaid. Now they are failing you, the voters.
“These shameless politicians are abusing their power to take away yours,” he continued in his statement. “I will always fight for you because the voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around.”
North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton issued a statement criticizing Berger and Hall for their announcement.
“North Carolina Republicans Phil Berger and Destin Hall are weak, subservient cowards, willing to steamroll the people of our state so they can give Donald Trump what he wants — power without accountability,” Clayton said in her statement.
“Today, the GOP Leaders announced they will be tearing up our already brutally gerrymandered congressional maps and redrawing them to give more seats to Congressional Republicans,” she continued in her statement. “Let me be clear: maps should not give you power; voters should.
“When politicians pick their voters instead of voters picking their politicians, that’s not democracy. That’s corruption.”
House Democratic Leader Representative Robert Reives said in a statement, “Republican lawmakers made clear today that they plan to come back to Raleigh and disenfranchise the voters of this state.
“Instead of lowering costs for families or ensuring Medicaid can stay afloat, they are hellbent on consolidating as much power as they can,” Reives said in his statement. “Call it what it is: They are stealing a congressional district in order to shield themselves from accountability at the ballot box.”
Democratic lawmakers have previously said they’ll fight back against these attempts, but with minorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, they said their hands are tied.
“They can pass these maps without us,” Democratic state Rep. Phil Rubin said. “That’s just a mathematical fact and the governor can’t veto congressional maps.
“What we’re going to do is go to the voters,” Rubin said. “We need people to get up and be loud about this. This is taking the voter’s right to democracy away from them. I don’t think people should stand for it I think they should be really angry about it.”
The state’s Congressional maps were last redrawn in 2023. Right now, North Carolina’s delegation has ten Republicans and four Democrats.
CBS 17 previously reported on a potential endorsement from Trump for Berger in his primary election in exchange for these redistricting plans. Senator Berger denied that any exchange was happening and said he had not spoken to the president about that.
Deana Harley
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