Outgoing North Carolina Rep. Wiley Nickel (D) penned an op-ed this week blaming Republican gerrymandering in the state for the lopsided outcome of North Carolina’s congressional races and for tipping the scales of Congress as a whole in favor of the GOP.
In an op-ed for The Raleigh News & Observer, Nickel noted that the result of the presidential election in North Carolina— and the results of other races in the state— showed close to a 50-50 split, representative of the “purple” status North Carolina is known for. However, because of Republican gerrymandering last year, the congressional delegation leaned Republican, with a 10-4 split.
That six-seat difference is wider than the five-seat advantage that Republicans have over Democrats in the House of Representatives. Had the delegation had an even 7-7 split (as it has under fairer maps), control of the House of Representatives would have been granted to Democrats, not Republicans, as that chamber of Congress is set to have 220 seats for the GOP and 215 seats for Democrats.
“The congressional map we used to have, with a 7-7 Republican-Democratic split, reflected the true political makeup of our state,” Nickel wrote. “It was fair. It gave voters on both sides confidence that their voices mattered.”
“It doesn’t take a mathematician to see…that gerrymandering in North Carolina tipped the scales in their favor and cost Democrats control of the U.S. House of Representatives,” Nickel said, adding that “New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries would be our next Speaker of the House with a one-seat Democratic majority at 218-217” had North Carolina’s congressional delegation been truly representative of voters’ preferences.
“This wasn’t an accident. This was by design. … The MAGA Republicans in Raleigh who drew these maps didn’t........