Why North Carolina Republicans are 'probably the nation’s most dedicated gerrymanderers': columnist

In contrast to its deep red neighbor South Carolina, North Carolina is a swing state with a centrist Democratic governor: Roy Cooper. President Joe Biden lost North Carolina to Donald Trump in 2020, but only by about 1 percent. And Democratic strategists believe that North Carolina is in play for Biden in 2024.

But MSNBC's Hayes Brown, in an opinion column published on October 30, warns that "North Carolina Republicans are probably the nation's most dedicated gerrymanderers."

"They haven't always been the most successful in the long term," Brown says of gerrymandering efforts by North Carolina Republicans, "but they've always been ready to bounce back and try again. And with a new congressional map approved last Wednesday, they may have actually found a map that will stick — and potentially decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year."

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Brown continues, "Last year, ahead of the midterms, the (North Carolina) Supreme Court struck down a map that would have benefitted Republicans. The redrawn map resulted in the North Carolina delegation being evenly split between seven Democrats and seven Republicans…. But since the previous maps were struck down, the North Carolina State Supreme Court flipped last year to a Republican majority and almost immediately ruled that the Court has no jurisdiction when it comes to partisan gerrymandering. The GOP-controlled (North Carolina) Legislature wasted no time in cobbling together a new set of maps that blatantly favor Republicans, break apart districts in major cities and leaves only one congressional district as a true battleground — but even that one leans Republican and is currently held by a Democrat."

READ MORE: 'Sheer insanity': NC Republicans on track to pass gerrymandered map erasing 4 Democratic districts

Read Hayes Brown's full MSNBC column at this link.