House maps: Ds in the crosshairs
The new proposed House district maps released this evening appear to take aim at House Democratic leaders.
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The new proposed district maps for the state House came out about 7 tonight, just in time for tomorrow's session.
It’s going to be a while before we get them all sorted out. The map is markedly different from the last one. That’s not unusual: House districts are more fluid than Senate districts because they include fewer people, and are therefore more subject to changes in population.
However, that being said, it’s also fair to say these maps clearly reflect the change in party leadership since the last round – and some of the reconfiguration is pretty major, especially in VRA districts.
Looking at these maps, it’s impossible to miss the fact that they appear to target some of the House Dems’ best-known and most outspoken leaders. It's also fair to say that a disproportionate number of the targets are women, compared to the percentage of women serving in the House. (Women make up 27% of all House lawmakers, 42% of House Democrats, and 53% percent of the Dems listed below.)
Six Democrats have been “double-bunked” with other Democrats – that is, drawn into districts with other incumbents. If you’re drawing maps for political ends, this is a convenient way to get rid of people in “safe” districts who would otherwise most likely win re-election.
- Orange – Minority Leader Joe Hackney has been drawn out of his District 54 and into the 56th with Dem Verla Insko.
- Cumberland – Dem Rick Glazier’s been drawn into Dem Diane Parfitt’s District 44.
- Wake – Dem Deborah Ross has been drawn into Dem Grier Martin’s District 34.
- Guilford – Dem Pricey Harrison now shares the 59th district with Dem Maggie Jeffus.
- Buncombe – Dem Patsy Keever is drawn out of her 115th and into District 114 with Dem Susan Fisher.
- Person – Dem Jim Crawford’s been drawn into a new District 2 with Person Dem Winkie Wilkins.
Three other Dems are drawn into districts with Republican incumbents:
- Washington – Dem Tim Spear is drawn out of his old District 2 (which no longer exists) and into the new 6th with Beaufort Republican Bill Cook.
- Wake – Dem Jennifer Weiss has been drawn into District 41 with Republican Tim Murry.
- Robeson – Dem Dewey Hill is drawn into a reconfigured District 46 with Republican G.L. Pridgen.
But it isn’t just Dems on the chopping block. Some Republicans were double-bunked, too:
- Mitchell – Philip Frye’s 84th district disappears. He’s drawn into Mitch Gillespie’s 85th.
- Forsyth – Larry Brown loses his 73rd District and is drawn into the 74th with Dale Folwell.
- Yadkin – Mark Hollo’s new 73rd takes over most of Darrell McCormick’s former 92nd.
- Franklin – Jeff Collins's 25th is drawn into Glen Bradley’s territory. Bradley’s former District 49 goes away.
- Wayne - Efton Sager’s 11th District goes away. He’s drawn into the 4th with Jimmy Dixon.
Several of these folks have either implied or said outright they may not run again, so some of these match-ups may be resolved before the next election cycle.
Reactions to come tomorrow morning.
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