{
  "id": 19836272,
  "title": "Republicans redrew North Carolina to win nearly two-thirds of its House seats — the blue wave left them poised to hold less than a third",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/republicans-redrew-north-carolina-to-win-nearly-two-thirds-of-its",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-13T16:44:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/11/13/republican-gerrymandering-north-carolina-ohio-texas-florida-midterms/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "During the 2026 election cycle, Republicans made a series of gerrymanders in a few states to gain an unfair advantage over Democrats in their congressional delegations. Democrats countered with a successful redistricting in California and an unsuccessful one in Virginia. The act of gerrymandering has serious implications for fairness and democracy, as some argue politicians pick their voters instead of voters picking their politicians. However, there is a practical concern for those doing the gerrymandering: if they spread their supporters too thin, they risk creating more seats that may lean in the other party's direction, resulting in what is often referred to as a \"dummymander.\" So, did Republican attempts to gerrymander end up costing them some seats in the U.S. House? The answer isn't as straightforward as it may seem.\n\nThe gerrymanders in North Carolina and Ohio aimed to maximize the number of seats Republicans could win. However, both states are traditionally competitive in statewide elections. Despite this, their state legislatures drew a collection of districts with a majority of voters who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Yet, in 2026, Democrats won many seats that had previously seemed unattainable, including districts Trump won by double digits in 2024. In Ohio and North Carolina, the backlash against Trump and his party significantly impacted the seats Republicans targeted, including ones Trump won by as many as 20 points. As a result, the Democratic wave may have made the new delegations more Democratic than they would have been without the gerrymanders.\n\nIn North Carolina, Republicans aimed to create districts where they would win nearly two-thirds of their congressional delegation. However, they are now projected to hold less than one-third of their state's seats. The outcome in North Carolina is a more drastic dummymander, as the Republicans may end up with less than half of the delegation they aimed for. In Ohio, the gerrymander aimed for a two-thirds Republican majority in their House delegation, but they are now likely to hold less than half of that in the 120th Congress. This outcome has produced a more representative result, aligning with the state's 2026 popular vote shares.",
  "summary": "In Ohio, a gerrymander that aimed for a two-thirds GOP majority in their House delegation will net them less than half of that in the 120th Congress.",
  "key_points": [
    "Democrats won many seats that had previously seemed unattainable, including Trump's districts.",
    "North Carolina Republicans now projected to hold less than one-third of their state's seats."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}