The new map that started advancing on Thursday would likely have an 8-5 Republican advantage. U.S. Rep. GK Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat, said Democrats have little chance of winning a sixth seat.
“To have a fair map we need a 6-7 map or a 7-6 map or a 6-6-1 map. Those would be fair maps,” said Butterfield, who had copies of the map printed out and showed them to other members of the congressional delegation at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. “This appears on the face of it to be a 5-8 map which doesn’t quite get us where we need to go.”
Democrats at the legislature were also unhappy that there weren’t more competitive districts.