After years of litigation and multiple redraws, the redistricting process in North Carolina has been completed and Lenoir County will have new representation in Congress following next year’s midterm election. The state-level districts for the Neuse News coverage area were not altered. 

Currently, Lenoir County is part of the Third Congressional District (NC-03), represented by Rep. Greg Murphy, but the new maps recently passed by the NC General Assembly transfer it to the First Congressional District (NC-01), represented by Rep. Don Davis. Lenoir and Greene Counties will now share a representative, while Jones County remains in NC-03. 

The newly redrawn NC-01 includes Wayne County and stretches north to the Virginia border and east to the Outer Banks. 

Politically, the new NC-01 promises to be the most competitive in the state. Analysis of the district by Elections Daily rates NC-01 as a toss-up, the only district of the fourteen in the state to receive that rating. Incumbent Rep. Davis won his seat in 2022 with 52.4% of the vote against Republican Sandy Smith, but the redrawn district has shifted to be more Republican-friendly. Current US Senator Ted Budd would have won the redrawn district by six percentage points.

Sen. Jim Perry (R-Lenoir), who was a member of the redistricting committee in the State Senate, said the change in congressional districts was “the way the lines worked out” due to the necessity of creating districts with even populations. 

The new maps could still face a legal challenge, as Perry said redistricting lawsuits have become the norm for NC, but he believes the challenges will not succeed and the maps passed will be the ones in place for next year’s elections.