Redistricting Could Be Biggest Consequence of Midterm Elections

Plan hinges on which party controls the legislature in ‘11

RALEIGH (By David N. Bass, Carolina Journal Online) — Forget jobs and health care. The most far-reaching effect of North Carolina’s midterm elections could be which party gets to draw legislative and congressional districts next year.

The reason: Redistricting can go far in making or breaking a party’s political fortunes. States are required to redraw their districts every decade to reflect population shifts documented in the census. If Tar Heel Republicans control the process this time around, it could be their ticket out of an electoral slump that dates back to Reconstruction.

But if Democrats — who have a 30-20 majority in the Senate and 68-52 edge in the House — maintain control, it could guarantee their command of state politics for the foreseeable future and strengthen their majorities in the state’s congressional delegation.