North Carolina is home to some of the most aggressive and consequential fights over gerrymandering in the nation — and some of the practice’s fiercest opponents.

But as President Donald Trump directs Republican states like Texas to undergo severe redistricting changes to benefit his party ahead of the midterms, and California pursues a similar scheme to offset the damage to Democrats, some North Carolina figures have changed their tune — or gone silent.

“We are in extraordinary times,” Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause NC, said.

Phillips’ group — which has separate chapters throughout the country — has long opposed partisan gerrymandering, even litigating a case over North Carolina’s congressional maps all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

But last week, Common Cause came out in support of California’s plan to redraw its map to potentially give Democrats five more seats in Congress and negate Republicans’ efforts in Texas. The plan is subject to voter approval and would be in effect until the next Census.

“After applying our fairness criteria, our redistricting experts determined California’s mid-year redistricting passes while Texas’s fails,” the national organization said in a statement. “We heard our members and we’re meeting this moment by forcing politicians on both sides to stand for our democracy.”

Following that announcement, several members of the organization’s California advisory board resigned, POLITICO reported.

Phillips said that Common Cause still believes the gold standard for redistricting is for states to create independent nonpartisan redistricting commissions

“The Common Cause position is not abandoning opposition to gerrymandering,” he said. “... I think it’s just the recognition that we are in extraordinary times where you have a president who is overtly trying to take more congressional seats through blatant partisan gerrymandering.

“We are recognizing that and still holding firm to our values that maps have to be drawn in a fair manner — and that’s red or blue states.”

But it’s not just advocacy groups who are changing their response; it’s politicians, too.

Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel, who was redistricted out of his seat when Republicans redrew maps in 2023, has been outspoken in the past about his opposition to gerrymandering, even filing federal legislation to establish nonpartisan redistricting commissions in every state.

But in an op-ed earlier this week, Nickel came out in support of California’s retaliatory redistricting efforts, saying desperate times call for desperate measures.

“Blue states will need to match Republican gerrymandering, for the time being, in order to preserve our democracy,” he wrote. “If Democrats fail to respond to GOP gerrymandering in Texas then partisan map makers, not voters, will likely hand control of Congress to Trump once again.”

NC Gov. Josh Stein, AG Jeff Jackson quiet on national gerrymandering fight

Other politicians who have delivered fiery rebukes of gerrymandering in the past have stayed silent amid Texas and California’s battles.

Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who last year called gerrymandering a “cancer on our democracy,” has not spoken out about the current redistricting battles and did not respond to a request for comment on the issue.

Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat who rose to internet fame while serving in Congress for his informative TikToks about national politics, also did not respond to a request for comment.

While he hasn’t spoken publicly on Texas and California’s efforts, Jackson’s opposition to gerrymandering previously marked a consistent theme to his political career — even when it meant criticizing his own party.

In 2016, he told Time Warner Cable News that Democrats in the North Carolina legislature should have banned partisan gerrymandering when they had the chance — before Republicans took the majority in 2010.

“This is not a problem that either party owns, this is a bipartisan problem,” he said. “My party did this for decades and we had the opportunity to end gerrymandering for decades and we didn’t do it.”

While serving as a state senator, Jackson proposed legislation to create an independent redistricting commission, and he frequently decried gerrymandering to a national audience after getting elected to Congress in 2022.

Like Nickel, Jackson was drawn out of his congressional seat when Republicans redrew the map in 2023, prompting him to run for attorney general.

Since then, Jackson has commented less frequently on hot-button political issues, having campaigned as a “nonpartisan independent voice for the people of North Carolina.”

NC unlikely to be drawn into gerrymandering fight

Ultimately, the nation’s current battle over redistricting is unlikely to involve North Carolina — so it may make sense politically for leaders to avoid the issue.

Republicans in the General Assembly already redrew the state’s congressional map, resulting in three Democrats — including Jackson and Nickel — losing their seats.

This came after the state Supreme Court’s new Republican majority ruled that partisan gerrymandering was a political question that could not be addressed by the courts — essentially giving lawmakers free rein to draw maps that benefited their party.

However, the state’s new maps still face legal challenges in state and federal courts over alleged racial gerrymandering and unfair electoral practices.

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