Wiley Nickel: “North Carolina is a true purple State. With our nearly 50/50 split between Democrats and Republicans, North Carolinians…”

“North Carolina is a true purple State. With our nearly 50/50 split between Democrats and Republicans, North Carolinians expect fairness when it comes to how their voices are represented in Congress. The Republican-controlled legislature's latest mid-decade gerrymandered election maps did more than just silence voters in North Carolina. They reshaped the balance of power in Washington, D.C., costing Democrats control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The congressional map we used to have with a 7-7 Democrat-Republican split reflected the true political makeup of our State. It was fair. It gave voters on both sides confidence that their voices mattered, but that wasn't good enough for legislative Republicans in Raleigh. They threw fairness out the window, forcing through a mid-decade map that handed Republicans an unfair 10-4 advantage in this next Congress. That is 71 percent of North Carolina's seats in the House going to Republicans in our 50/50 State. It doesn't take a mathematician to see what is wrong with that. Now, with Adam Gray's victory in California's 13th District giving Republicans a bare three-seat majority in the House, it is clear that gerrymandering tipped the scales in their favor and cost Democrats control of the U.S. House of Representatives. If not for Republican gerrymandering, Hakeem Jeffries would be our next Speaker of the House with a 218-217 victory.…”