The North Carolina Senate could give final approval to a new congressional district map today.A Republican majority pushed the map through the House Thursday. A state court urged lawmakers to re-do North Carolina's 13 congressional districts, indicating the current boundaries had been gerrymandered with excessive partisan bias.
The new map could reduce the GOP's 10 to 3 congressional majority by at least two seats. But the new map has still drawn criticism from Democrats and in public comment, in part, for a perceived lack of transparency in the redrawing process.
But Republican Representative and Redistricting Committee Chairman David Lewis defended the new map and complained that many people were predisposed to opposing it.
"Politics permeates what we do up here," Lewis said.
Lewis notably said that in 2016, during the last redistricting, that he proposed giving congressional Republicans a 10 to 3 advantage because an 11 to 2 edge wasn't possible.
Democratic Representative and committee member Pricey Harrison expressed her concerns that the proposed replacement would not create enough competitive districts.
"We are a purple state and these maps... they're going to lead us to the kind of election results that reflect the electorate of North Carolina," she said.
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