North Carolina's GOP-dominated state Supreme Court heard initial arguments Tuesday as to whether its previous Democratic majority made a mistake in rejecting the initial map Republican legislators drew two years ago — the first of a series of cases that could help the GOP increase its slim five-seat majority in the House, Politico reported on Tuesday.
Pundits predict that a GOP-friendly ruling in North Carolina, aided by recently elected pro-Republican judges, could give conservatives as many as four additional seats in the next election.
Also, across the country, a dozen other states have litigation in process -- litigation that could facilitate GOP victories next year.
"The cumulative effect of all these fights is significant, and I think could be the determining factor for control of the House following the 2024 elections," said Marina Jenkins, the recently named executive director of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
Rep. Richard Hudson, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, had a different spin on the situation.
"I think the current map is a partisan gerrymander, and that we need fair and legal maps," Hudson told Politico. "And if you have fair and legal maps, I think you'll have more Republican representatives."
Adam Kincaid, the leader of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, added that "the liberal majorities on the Ohio and North Carolina supreme courts overreached, and the voters responded by electing new conservative majorities."
Tuesday’s rehearing of the case in North Carolina state court also raises another crucial question: What would the U.S. Supreme Court do with this case?
Earlier this month, the nation's highest court directed parties in the federal case to submit briefs on how the rehearing and "any subsequent state court proceedings" would affect the court’s jurisdiction.
This suggests the justices might consider dismissing the case as improvidently granted, Politico reported.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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