Ruling Monday Will Determine Whether N.C. Primary Delayed

If a three-judge panel in the District of Columbia hasn't ruledby 10 a.m. -- that's when the state Board of Elections meets --North Carolina's primary won't occur until summer. It's currentlyscheduled for May 4.

By law, the General Assembly must draw new legislative andcongressional districts every 10 years to reflect populationchanges. It's a job that's proved especially difficult for NorthCarolina lawmakers over the past few years.

If the primary is delayed, it will mark the third time in sixyears that redistricting problems have postponed state elections.In 2002, the primary was postponed four months.

Elections board members have not decided when a rescheduledprimary might be held.

Once the maps over legislative districtsare settled, Democrats and Republicans will slugit out for control of the legislative chambers, and statewide offices.

If the House remains closely divided between the two majorparties, House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan could keep control of atleast half the speakership. That's the prediction of John Hood,president of the conservative John Locke Foundation.

Hood also predicts that a wider Republican majority would leadto a new GOP leader.

Ted Arrington, a political scientist at UNC-Charlotte, saysmore significant changes may occur in the statewide offices justbelow the governor and lieutenant governor on the ballot.

Arrington says growing numbers of moderate Republicans movingfrom northern states to North Carolina metropolitan areas are theagents of that potential shift.