NC's gerrymander kings meet a blue-wave reckoning | Opinion
They were once the gerrymander kings. North Carolina Republicans after the 2010 midterm elections became specialists in drawing congressional and state voting districts that all but guaranteed Republican wins. Their Congressional maps drew national attention, and they were right proud of what they had achieved. One of the map architects, former N.C. Rep. David Lewis, said in 2016 that he intended to produce a map with 10 Republicans and three Democrats because it was not possible to draw an 11-2 map. (Back then, the state had 14 seats for Congress; there are now 15.) Those were high times for gerrymandering. Then, the Nov. 3, 2026, midterms happened. A Democratic Party “blue tsunami” washed over the country, borne along by voter anger at the economy and an unpopular president. As Republicans nationwide surveyed the damage in the storm’s wake, the gerrymander kings in North Carolina knew they would have to turn in their crowns. Opinion Pitts, Oct. 18, 2025: No longer pretending: NC Republicans ready to help Trump, not NC voters Despite a Republican Congressional map drawn up to elect 11 Republicans and three Democrats, it is the Democrats, if unofficial results hold, who will send as many as 10 representatives
