Oct. 22 (UPI) — North Carolina lawmakers issued final passage of its newly redrawn congressional map explicitly designed to give Republicans an edge in the 2026 midterm election.
The Republican-controlled state legislature voted 66-48 to pass its new legislative map only an hour after floor debate was abruptly cut off. It’s created to pick up another seat for Republicans and undermines the influence of Black voters in a district they historically dominated.
The measure was passed in the state’s Senate, but North Carolina’s constitution prohibits the governor from signing a veto in order to prevent it from entering law.
“If I did have that power, I assure you I would veto this map,” Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, activists called the maps “racist” as hundreds of protesters gathered at the state’s capital in Raleigh.
“Republican legislative leaders are abusing their power to take away yours,” the first-term governor added.
Only three public comments of 11,000 public comments submitted to a state legislative committee expressed support for the GOP alterations, according to a state lawmaker.
North Carolina is only the latest state to react to U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to push mid-decade redistricting, which has been a break with long-standing bipartisan practice.
It follows similar political battles in other Republican-led states such as Texas, where it started, in Utah and more recently in Missouri. It triggered backlash by Democrats when California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom, rumored to be among 2028 Democratic presidential contenders, as a means to counteract right-wing maneuvers.
“They’re afraid they will lose in the midterms and afraid to say no to the president, so they’ve turned their backs on you to silence your vote in the 2026 election,” North Carolina’s Stein continued.
Meanwhile, legal action is expected to swirl as opponents of the new map seek to revoke it.
“State Republicans are desperate to rig maps to help the GOP hold onto their slim US House majority,” the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said on social media.
“To protect our federal elections, we must grow Dem power in the states,” the DLCC stated Wednesday afternoon.