Nov 20, 2025 - Politics & Policy

Judges uphold several N.C. U.S. House districts drawn by Republicans

Rebecca Falconer

A dark-haired Democratic Party staff member, wearing a red dress with short sleeves, holds a chart showing the redistricting that has taken place in the state of North Carolina as members of Congress speak during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol September 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. — A Democratic Party staff member holds a chart showing the redistricting that has taken place in the state of North Carolina as members of Congress speak during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol in September. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Federal judges on Thursday rejected most claims in two lawsuits challenging North Carolina Republicans' redistricting maps that were drawn in 2023.

The big picture: The ruling by the three judges, who were appointed by Republican presidents, does not affect the more recent legal challenge to the state GOP's latest redistricting plans that are designed to oust Democratic Rep. Don Davis in 2026, which is still before the courts.

Context: North Carolina redistricted in 2023 after a conservative state Supreme Court OK'd partisan gerrymandering, overturning a past decision banning the practice.

This year, the state again redistricted, changing just two districts in hopes of adding an extra GOP seat.

Driving the news: A coalition including voters, the state NAACP and Common Cause argued in the suits that the maps violate voter dilution and racial discrimination laws.

Defendants include North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall, in his official capacity as chair of the state House Standing Committee on Redistricting.

Zoom in: "After considering all the evidence, we find that Plaintiffs have failed to prove that the North Carolina General Assembly drew state Senate or federal congressional districts with the discriminatory purpose of minimizing or canceling out the voting potential" of Black North Carolinians, the judges wrote.

"The racial data necessary to execute such a discriminatory purpose was not used in drafting the 2023 Senate or congressional plans," they added.

"The circumstances surrounding the plans' enactment and the resulting district configurations and composition are consistent with the General Assembly's non-racial motivations, which included traditional districting criteria, North Carolina law, and partisan performance."

What we're watching: The plaintiffs could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Representatives for Hall, the NAACP and Common Cause did not immediately respond to Axios' Thursday evening request for comment.

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Editor's note: Axios' Andrew Pantazi contributed reporting.

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Judges uphold several N.C. U.S. House districts drawn by Republicans

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