ROCKINGHAM — Rep. Robert Pittenger could replace Richard Hudson as the congressional representative for Richmond, Anson and Scotland counties if a proposed redistricting map is approved.
State Republican lawmakers rolled out a map Wednesday that pulls the three counties — along with Robeson — out of Hudson’s 8th District and places them in the 9th District, represented by Pittenger, a Charlotte Republican.
The redrawing was in response to a federal court’s ruling by a three-judge panel earlier this month that two North Carolina congressional districts, the 1st and 12th, were gerrymandered based on race.
The State Senate passed the map on Thursday 49-0, even though GOP leaders say the current map is constitutional.
“While we wish North Carolina voters didn’t have to deal with the chaos, costliness and uncertainty associated with an eleventh hour ruling changing the current primary election, we are pleased the Senate was able to pass a fair, legal and compact congressional map that harmonizes traditional redistricting principles,” Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said in a statement. “This is the least gerrymandered and most compact congressional map that North Carolina has seen in decades, and we believe it should address the federal trial court’s concerns by its tight deadline.”
That deadline is today.
DISTRICT DIFFERENCES
Currently, the 8th District also includes all of Montgomery and Stanly counties, as well as portions of Robeson, Randolph, Rowan, Union, Mecklenburg, Davidson and Cabarrus counties.
The new map would give Hudson all of Hoke, Moore, Montgomery, Stanly and Cabarrus counties, along with the northern half of Cumberland and the southern half of Rowan counties.
The 9th District, covering the western edge of Union County and parts of Mecklenburg and Iredell counties, would now consist of all of Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland and Robeson counties and the southeast region of Mecklenburg, southern half of Cumberland and the western half of Bladen counties.
While Hudson, R-Concord, thinks that the current maps are fair and legal and hopes that U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts will issue a stay, his office says he remains committed to representing his constituents.
Although Pittenger said his district has been largely in tact for several decades and the change was a “big surprise,” he’s looking forward to representing a new area.
“A lot of folks are struggling and I want to be there to represent their needs and to represent their interests to the best of my ability,” he said in a Thursday telephone interview. “I’ll enjoy getting to know the folks back east the same as when I ran for lieutenant governor.”
He criticized the court’s timing, saying, “It’s unfortunate that this panel waited until the last minute,” with the primary elections being now less than a month away.
Pittenger said he understands what state legislators were trying to accomplish and said they did “a magnanimous job, particularly with the timeframe they had.”
“These districts are the most cohesive that have ever been drawn,” he said, adding that they “really represent a region, not a district drawn to represent certain political interests.”
Overall, he said, the new districts are better for the state.
DEMOCRAT DISAPPROVAL
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-Wilson, represents the 1st Congressional District, which covers most of the northeast region of the state, encompassing all or part of 24 counties from Durham to Elizabeth City with a sliver stretching southward to Greenville and New Bern.
The 12th District, represented by Rep. Alma Adams, D-Greensboro, currently snakes down I-85 from her hometown down to Charlotte. The new map places the district completely in Mecklenburg County, with southeast region around Matthews and Mint Hill being in the 9th District.
With the new map, Adams falls into the 13th District, which was moved westward. The newly drawn district includes all of Davie and Davidson counties and sections of Guilford, Iredell and Rowan counties.
Butterfield sent a letter Wednesday to the state Republican leadership saying the criteria used “do not comply with the U.S. Constitution, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, or basic fairness.”
By prohibiting race from being a factor in drawing the districts, the congressman said it was a “clear violation…of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to draw districts that do not protect the voting interest of African American communities.”
“To concentrate black voters into districts that dilute their voting strength is a violation of the law,” he wrote. “In Harris v. McCrory, the court stated that race should not be the predominant factor in drawing the districts. However, the court did not say that race should not be a factor at all.”
Butterfield continued saying it was inconsistent with the law to “eliminate a voting rights district that the court has previously held to be constitutional prior to the 2011 congressional redistricting.”
The new boundaries were also criticized state Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue of Raleigh, who said it’s disingenuous for Republicans to claim race played no part. He argues they used party affiliation as a proxy, according to the Associated Press.
“I don’t think it takes much imagination to see exactly what you’ve done here,” he said. “In three districts … you’ve again managed to stuff about half the black population in the state.”
Rep. Adams could not be reached for comment.
The nonpartisan nonprofit Common Cause N.C. believes the drawing of districts should be taken out of lawmakers’ hands.
“As long as partisan politicians are in charge of drawing North Carolina’s voting maps, our state’s redistricting process will continue to be deeply flawed regardless of which party is in power,” Executive Director Bob Phillips said in a statement Thursday. “North Carolina needs an impartial redistricting process that ignores all political consideration and puts voters ahead of partisanship.”
‘MORE BALANCED’
State Rep. Ken Goodman, D-Richmond, said although he doesn’t have a strong opinion on the rest of the map, he likes the way the new district looks for Richmond County and thinks it will be “a more friendly district for us.”
“I think the 9th District will be a district Democrats could conceivably win,” he said Thursday.
Goodman said the new map does a better job of keeping counties whole within a district.
“The main thing about the 9th District, it makes it more competitive,” he said. “Having a more balanced district is a good thing.”
He added that once approved, congressional races will have to be moved and that filing for those seats would be re-opened.
Neither Rep. Garland Pierce, D-Scotland, or Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Richmond, could be reached for comment.
Connie Kelly, Richmond County elections director said Thursday that the State Board of Elections has told local offices to continue with preparation, absentee voting and training officials for the upcoming primary elections.
“As far as we know right now, the primaries will be held on March 15,” she said. “If it changes, they will tell us as soon as they have official word.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_toler.
