Race to play key role in North Carolina redistricting debates

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Race to play key role in North Carolina redistricting debates

By Michaela L. Duckett – May 10, 2011

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The redistricting wars are underway in North Carolina as the state’s Republicans - who are in control of the General Assembly for the first time since Reconstruction - are making designs on the current congressional map.

Politico.com reports the GOP is considering a controversial but well-worn strategy that has worked elsewhere in the South: Create a new majority-minority district while destroying other districts occupied by white Democrats.

According to the report, the plan is to give North Carolina a third district with a large enough minority population to elect another African-American member of Congress. In doing so, new lines would be drawn to secure and expand the ranks of the state’s congressional Republicans.

Such race-based redistricting could potentially end the careers of a handful of North Carolina Democrats including Reps. Larry Kissell, Mike McIntyre, Brad Miller and Heath Shuler.

Reps. G.K. Butterfield and Mel Watt — both African-American Democrats— would likely be entrenched in their minority districts, as would Rep. David Price from the more liberal Research Triangle area.

“The maneuvering shows that even in the new South… congressional districts aren’t immune from old-fashioned racial gerrymandering,” writes Politico’s Richard E. Cohen. “In a sense, North Carolina is planning to catch up to race-based redistricting that has spread across the region over the years.”