Federal judges appear skeptical of challenge to NC's new congressional map

Kyle Ingram, The News & Observer (Raleigh) on Nov 19, 2025

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As advocacy groups urged them to take action before the 2026 election, a panel of federal judges appeared skeptical of a legal challenge to North Carolina’s new Republican-crafted congressional map.

Appearing at a hearing in Winston-Salem on Wednesday, lawyers for the North Carolina NAACP and a variety of other groups argued that the map — which lawmakers drew at President Donald Trump’s request — illegally retaliates against voters in the 1st Congressional District for electing a Democrat in 2024.

Hilary Klein, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the map represents an “unprecedented escalation of picking up the pen just to harm voters.”

Attorneys for legislative leaders, who are defendants in the case, argued that the legislature has broad authority to redraw congressional maps when it pleases and followed all necessary guidelines for doing so.

The challenge, which alleges that lawmakers violated voters’ First Amendment rights when they underwent a mid-decade redistricting process, is an entirely novel argument — a fact judges on the panel frequently brought up as they peppered Klein and her co-counsel with questions.

Judge Thomas Schroeder, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, asked how plaintiffs could meet the high bar for a preliminary injunction — which requires plaintiffs to show a likelihood of success on the merits — if the specifics of their challenge had never been argued before.

Asked about the judges’ frequent questions after the hearing, Klein said the panel was “very engaged.”

“I heard a genuine pursuit to understand the nature of the claims and to understand the law that we’re putting forth,” she said.

The panel’s other two judges were Allison Rushing and Richard Myers, both of whom are Trump appointees.

In recent years, rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court and state Supreme Court have effectively legalized partisan gerrymandering, allowing lawmakers to brazenly draw districts in their party’s favor without fear of legal reprisal. Because of this, advocacy groups have had to pursue alternative legal avenues to challenge maps in court.

Plaintiffs have also alleged that the map, which significantly undercuts the influence of Black voters in an area they have historically dominated, illegally discriminates against minorities.

The map is “an assault on the voting rights of Black North Carolinians,” attorney Lalitha Madduri said.

Throughout the redistricting process, Republican lawmakers frequently stated that they did not use racial data in creating the map.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Sen. Ralph Hise, a Mitchell County Republican who spearheaded the effort to draw the new map, testified that lawmakers sought only to create a more favorable district for Republicans.

“We are not making any decisions on the basis of race,” Hise said.

The panel of judges indicated they would rule as quickly as possible. Candidate filing for the 2026 election begins on Dec. 1.

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