The Charlotte Observer's Danielle Battaglia writes that Tim Moore, the Republican speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, is “believed” to be planning to redraw Democratic Rep. Jeff Jackson’s 14th Congressional District into a constituency that he can win. Battaglia adds that there’s talk that Jackson could run for the attorney general’s post that fellow Democrat Josh Stein is giving up to run for governor rather than seek a second term, but all the congressman would say about his plans is that he’s “looking forward to seeing any new map drawn by the General Assembly.”
The current version of Jackson’s district backed Biden 57-41 under the lines that the state Supreme Court approved for the 2022 elections. However, the body’s new GOP majority is likely to approve whatever gerrymander the legislature agrees on this summer, and under state law, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper cannot veto redistricting plans.
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Moore has coveted a spot in the House for some time, and in 2021 he helped craft what was supposed to be a new seat in the Charlotte area that he could slide into. Things quickly went off-script, though, when far-right Rep. Madison Cawthorn unexpectedly announced he’d run in the proposed 13th District even though it contained barely a shred of the western North Carolina seat he already held. But while Cawthorn successfully bullied Moore into seeking re-election to the legislature, the speaker would have a far better 2022 than the congressman.
The state Supreme Court, which at the time had a Democratic majority, rejected the maps that Moore and his colleagues drew, and Cawthorn’s attempted district hop did not play well with the constituents he’d tried to abandon. Cawthorn, who also was buried by scandal after scandal, ended up losing renomination to state Sen. Chuck Edwards, while Moore went on to easily win a historic fifth term as speaker. Cawthorn moved to Florida days after leaving Congress, while Moore is positioned to finally craft the district he’s always wanted for himself.