In the News

NC high court ruling on maps leaves most congressional Democratic incumbents unsure of their chances in 2024

 It was considered the tightest congressional race in North Carolina and among the biggest toss-ups in the country. Now, there is a possibility the 13th district, as it exists today, will survive for only one term

“Fortunately, you know, this was something we expected. And, you know, this is something that matters for every single North Carolinian. You’re talking about who you send to Washington,” said Rep. Wiley Nickel (D), NC 13.

The current map was drawn after the courts found the previous Republican drawn map to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered. It led to an even split. Seven Republicans and seven Democrats won their congressional races in 2020.


The Republican majority on the North Carolina Supreme Court has now reversed the previous ruling which means the maps will be redrawn yet again.

The recent court decision is a win for the GOP but leaves most congressional Democratic incumbents unsure of their chances in 2024.

“It would be nice to have certainty. You know, I think we want to keep the maps that we have because they’re fair maps. But we’re going to see what happens, see what the legislature does a little more optimistically because of all the growth here in the Triangle, we’re going to have a seat to run in,” said Nickel.


The 13th District includes a large number of Republican voters and conservative-leaning independents in the central part of the state. But Nickel managed to beat his Republican competitor Bo Hines by 8,834 votes. Nickel will have to wait to find out if the district will retain enough Democrats and left-leaning unaffiliated voters for him to remain in office.

“I’ve got a district and for two years I’m going to be doing everything I can to represent everybody in this district, regardless of how the maps change. And unfortunately, in North Carolina, every two years, we seem to redraw our maps. So, for now I’ve got a great district and I’m going to focus on doing my job every day to represent every single person, every ounce of my energy. What we need to do is get politicians out of this process. Politicians should not be choosing their voters. Voters should be choosing their politicians. So that means nonpartisan independent redistricting reform. I can go on and on about this, but I can tell you in Washington, when you have folks who represent everybody in their in their district, Democrats and Republicans, you get better policy as opposed to when have so many on the far left and so many on their far right,” said Nickel.