By Gabe WhisnantShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberA federal three-judge panel on Wednesday cleared North Carolina to use a newly redrawn congressional map crafted to help Republicans flip a Democratic-held seat as part of President Donald Trump’s multistate effort to reengineer political boundaries ahead of the 2026 elections.
Why It Matters
The map targets the state’s lone swing district, represented by Democratic Rep. Don Davis, an African American lawmaker whose 1st District has been represented by Black members of Congress for more than three decades.
What To Know
The judges unanimously rejected requests for a preliminary injunction after a mid-November hearing in Winston-Salem. One day later, the same panel upheld several other districts drawn by GOP legislators in 2023 that were first used in the 2024 elections and contributed to Republicans gaining three additional U.S. House seats.
...Attorneys defending the maps countered that the goals were partisan and legal under Supreme Court precedent, and that the shifts reflected what they called a “nationwide partisan redistricting arms race.” They rejected arguments about the use of five-year-old data and denied any unconstitutional retaliation or racial targeting.
North Carolina is among several states where Trump has broken with more than a century of political norms by directing Republican lawmakers to redraw congressional boundaries in the middle of the decade without a court order requiring the changes. His campaign has argued the midterm map revisions are needed to prevent Democrats from reclaiming the U.S. House in next year’s elections. Democrats must gain just three seats to take control of the chamber and block much of Trump’s second-term agenda. In recent months, Republican-led legislatures or redistricting commissions in Texas, Missouri and Ohio have approved new maps with the stated goal of expanding GOP gains in 2026.
Democrats have moved similarly in states where they hold an advantage. In California, voters approved a ballot measure allowing new districts aimed at improving Democratic prospects. And in Virginia, the Democratic-controlled General Assembly advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that could open the door to its own mid-decade map changes.
Many lower courts have so far blocked portions of Trump’s redistricting ambitions, only for the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority to pause those rulings while appeals proceed. Among them is a recent case in Texas, where a new congressional map engineered to give Republicans five more seats was allowed to take effect despite a lower court decision against it.
In North Carolina, the GOP-controlled General Assembly approved its latest congressional revisions on Oct. 22 without needing the signature of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. Republican leaders argue the changes ensure partisan fairness in a state where Trump won the popular vote in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
The decision addressed two separate lawsuits. One, filed by the state NAACP, Common Cause and several voters, argued the map violated the First Amendment by targeting North Carolina’s “Black Belt” as retaliation against Black voters who had organized, voted for their preferred candidates and previously challenged the 2023 configuration. A second lawsuit, brought by individual voters, claimed that Republicans had relied on outdated Census data in drawing mid-decade maps and that the boundaries violated the Constitution’s one-person, one-vote standard. Plaintiffs also said lawmakers improperly relied on race in crafting the new boundaries.
Republicans currently hold 10 of North Carolina’s 14 House seats, the result of the 2023 map. They hope to add an 11th by redrawing the 1st District and portions of the adjoining 3rd District, represented by Republican Greg Murphy. Under the new boundaries, the Black voting-age population in the 1st District would fall from 40% to 32%, according to court filings. GOP mapmakers moved several heavily Black and reliably Democratic counties into the 3rd District, a shift that election analysts say strengthens Republican prospects in both districts.
Many of the same plaintiffs challenging the revised 1st District also sued over the 2023 map, alleging it fractured and packed Black voters to dilute their political strength. But the judges—each appointed by a Republican president—recently dismissed the claims involving five other congressional districts and three legislative districts, ruling the plaintiffs had not proven lawmakers acted “with the discriminatory purpose of minimizing or canceling out the voting potential of Black North Carolinians.”
What People Are Saying
In a statement, North Carolina Republican Senate leader Phil Berger said the decision “thwarts the radical left’s latest attempt to circumvent the will of the people” in a state that voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
He continued, “As Democrat-run states like California do everything in their power to undermine President Trump’s administration and agenda, North Carolina Republicans went to work to protect the America First Agenda."
North Carolina's Democratic Governor Josh Stein said last month, "The legislature is supposed to work for the people."They should not be abusing their power and using it to take away the people's power."
What Happens Next
Candidate filing for North Carolina’s 2026 elections is scheduled to open Monday, December 1.
Updates: 11/26/25, 6:08 p.m. ET: This article was updated with new information and remarks.
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