ROCKINGHAM — Very little changes for the House and Senate districts in which Richmond County is included with newly redrawn maps by the General Assembly.
The new state Senate District 29 still includes all of Richmond, Montgomery and Anson counties, along with the eastern half (cut diagonally) of Union.
The notable change between the new map and the one recently shot down by the N.C. Supreme Court is that the apportionment of Randolph County has been redrawn to include the southern half and western side of the county instead of two-thirds with the dividing line running north and south.
Sen. David Craven, R-Randolph, still resides in the district.
Craven filed to retain the seat in December the day before the state Supreme Court halted all filing due to legal challenges to the district maps.
Sen. Tom McInnis, who currently represents Richmond County, changed his residency to Moore County to run in Senate District 21, which comprises Moore and northwestern Cumberland County.
The latest House District map still pits Richmond County Republican Ben Moss against Moore County’s Jamie Boles for District 55. Both are currently serving in their respective districts.
Boles’ current District 52 comprises about two-thirds of Moore County, while Moss represents Richmond and Montgomery counties and a sliver of northeastern Stanly County.
Moss filed in December and Boles told the RO that he plans to when filing reopens, which is slated for Feb. 24.
The congressional map, which was tweeted by Rep. Destin Hall late Tuesday, has drawn criticism, especially from progressive pundits.
One of the most mentioned changes is the inclusion of Orange County with the 9th Congressional District, which also comprises Richmond, Scotland, Anson, Union, Stanly, Montgomery, Moore, Lee and half of Chatham.
“It winds about 125 miles through rural North Carolina and ends up in Union County and the suburbs of Charlotte,” Thomas Mills, of Politics NC, noted in a recent column. “Orange County and Union County have little in common economically, culturally, or socially. I suspect the point is to have liberal Orange County represented by one of Congress’s most openly and proudly bigoted members. It’s little more than trolling. I don’t think it will fly.”
Senate Republicans say the remedial maps could tend to favor Democrats more than the previous.
“During the remedial map-drawing process we set out to draw maps that scored well based on the requirements of the Supreme Court’s order and included as many competitive districts as possible,” Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, said in a statement. “We accomplished that. Our proposed remedial Senate map fully complies with the court’s order.”
According to a press release, Gov. Roy Cooper won 25 districts in the 2020 election based on the new maps, compared to 23 on the originally enacted maps. They also point out that former President Donald Trump won two fewer districts based on the new maps.
“While Democrat-run states like New York and Illinois are further entrenching their political power, this remedial map reflects North Carolina’s voters and political landscape, not a predetermined partisan outcome,” Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Burke, said. “In doing so, our state will have what we believe to be four of the most competitive districts in the nation. That’s a far cry from redistricting efforts we’ve seen in recent months in those blue states. The remedial Congressional map fully complies with the court’s order and scores well on mandated tests.”
Democrats accused Republicans of working in secret, with WRAL reporting “the party has kept quiet on where they are meeting and who is allowed in the room as the districts are crafted.”
“There’s no reason anybody ought to hide what they’re looking at as they draw new districts for court review,” said Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake.
“North Carolina voters have dealt with costly and confusing redistricting litigation for much of the last decade. If sunlight is the best disinfectant, then these maps drawn in darkness likely contain unconstitutional rot,” said North Carolina Democratic Party Executive Director Meredith Cuomo. “It’s past time to pull back the curtains and give North Carolinians the transparency they deserve.”
