Title: Historic Redistricting Elections in North Carolina and Alabama Reshape US House Races
Voters in North Carolina and Alabama are participating in crucial US House elections on Tuesday, March 7, following significant congressional redistricting processes in these states over the past few months.
In North Carolina, where the Republican-controlled General Assembly drew a new map favoring their party, the GOP is expected to secure at least ten of fourteen House seats this year. This shift could potentially help Republicans maintain their narrow majority in the chamber after the November elections, as several Democratic incumbents and Republican representatives have opted to retire or seek different offices.
Three Democratic incumbents – Reps. Jeff Jackson, Wiley Nickel, and Kathy Manning – decided to leave their seats or run for other offices in newly redrawn Republican-friendly districts. Additionally, two GOP House members, Reps. Dan Bishop and Patrick McHenry, announced their departure from Congress in districts that favor the Republican Party.
Meanwhile, in Alabama, recent redistricting efforts have led to an historic primary for one House seat and potentially set up a significant milestone this fall if Alabamians choose to elect two Black lawmakers to the US House for the first time.
Following a legal confrontation that garnered national attention, a federal court approved a new congressional map in 2022, providing African American residents – who make up approximately 27% of the state’s population – an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice in a second House district.
The contentious 2nd Congressional District race, which cuts across a southern swath of Alabama and has a substantial Black population, has attracted eighteen candidates: eleven Democrats and seven Republicans. Given racial voting patterns in the state, it is believed that a Democratic candidate is likely to win this fall, with a Black candidate potentially emerging as the victor.
A total of sixteen Democrats are vying for the nomination in this district, including several state lawmakers like Alabama House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, state Senator Merika Coleman, and representatives Napoleon Bracy, Jr., Juandalynn Givan, and Jeremy Gray. The field also includes James Averhart, a former US House candidate and the executive director of the Alabama branch of the NAACP, and Shomari Figures, a former aide to US Attorney General Merrick Garland who also served in the White House during the Obama administration.
The top two contenders will face off in a runoff on April 16 if no candidate secures more than 50% of the votes on Tuesday.
The court-ordered redistricting in Alabama has also thrust two Republican incumbents, Reps. Jerry Carl and Barry Moore, into the first member-versus-member primary of the 2024 election. Currently representing the 2nd District, both men have aimed to position themselves as the most conservative candidate in the contest.
In North Carolina’s Tar Heel State, fourteen candidates are competing for the open Republican primary seat in Nickel’s redrawn 13th District. Top spenders in this race include Smithfield lawyer Kelly Daughtry, Wake Forest businessman Fred Von Canon, and former federal prosecutor Brad Knott from Raleigh. Immigration has become a significant issue in the campaigns of Daughtry and Von Canon, as they have highlighted it in their campaign ads.
Multiple candidates are also running for the open seats previously held by Manning and Jackson, with former state House Speaker Tim Moore seeking Jackson’s reconfigured 14th District seat. Tim Moore has received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who has also backed Addison McDowell, a former Capitol Hill staffer and ex-health insurance industry lobbyist seeking to replace Manning in the redrawn 6th District. Additionally, former US Rep. Mark Walker is competing in the primary, while the conservative anti-tax group Club for Growth is supporting Bo Hines, who was the GOP nominee for the 13th District in 2022 but lost to Wiley.
Primary candidates in North Carolina must receive at least 30% of the votes to avoid a potential May 17 runoff.
