By Michael Bitzer
Fall breaks on college campuses are suppose to be quiet ones—students away, faculty getting some rest as well, all with the oncoming rush to the end of the semester looming ahead.
Well, at least on this Monday of Catawba’s fall break, news decided to interrupt that R&R with word that state legislative Republicans would follow the calls of their party leader and redistrict North Carolina’s congressional map to create “at least one” Republican pick up from the Old North State.
The GOP leaders’ announcement focused on trying to build some cushion in next year’s mid-term elections with shifting a map that is currently 10-4 Republican to 11-3. And the likely target will be the First Congressional District, located in the northeastern portion of the state with Democrat Don Davis. It’s a very 50-50 district currently (located in the upper northeastern portion of the state and ironically colored purple in the below map), with Davis having won with 49.5 percent of the vote in 2024.
