North Carolina Republican lawmakers announced on Monday a plan to redraw the state’s congressional map, which is expected to give the GOP one additional House seat in the 2026 midterms. “President Trump earned a clear mandate from the voters of North Carolina and the rest of the country, and we intend to defend it by drawing an additional Republican Congressional seat,” North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) said in a statement, according to NC Newsline. According to reports, Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, is unable to veto a new congressional map brought by Republican lawmakers. Just in: North Carolina Republicans plan to redraw the Congressional map for the 2026 midterms. The new map would likely turn the 1st District from Blue to Red. The Democratic Governor Josh Stein doesn't have the power to veto the map. pic.twitter.com/ch6YqqNc9K — The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) October 13, 2025 NC Newsline explained: There’s little to stand in their way. Passing a new congressional map requires only a simple majority vote in both chambers of the General Assembly, and Republicans hold majorities in both. The new districts are not subject to Stein’s veto. Judicial action is also unlikely, as both the U.S. Supreme Court and North Carolina Supreme Court have held that partisan gerrymandering falls outside of their purview. Hall cited efforts by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to overturn independent maps in his state to create more Democratic seats, which itself came in response to redistricting at President Donald Trump’s urging in Texas and Missouri. “Our state won’t stand by while Democrats like Gavin Newsom redraw districts to aid in their efforts to obtain a majority in the U.S. House,” Hall said. “We will not allow them to undermine the will of the voters and President Trump’s agenda.” Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) — who first floated the idea of a new map last month — said protecting Trump’s agenda requires “safeguarding Republican control of Congress.” “The General Assembly works for North Carolina, not Donald Trump. The Republican leadership in the General Assembly has failed to pass a budget, failed to pay our teachers and law enforcement what they deserve, and failed to fully fund Medicaid. Now they are failing you, the voters. These shameless politicians are abusing their power to take away yours. I will always fight for you because the voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around,” Stein said in a statement. NEW: @NC_Governor has issued a statement in response to North Carolina legislative efforts to redraw the state's congressional map. pic.twitter.com/oqohuFSku1 — The Redistrict Network (@RedistrictNet) October 13, 2025 More from the Associated Press: North Carolina Republicans created a map in 2023 that resulted in GOP candidates winning 10 of the state’s 14 U.S. House seats in 2024. That compared to a 7-7 seat split between Democrats and the GOP under the map used in 2022. Now only one of the House districts –- the 1st District currently represented by Democratic Rep. Don Davis –- is considered a true swing district and could be targeted by the GOP for an 11th seat. Davis won a second term last year by less than 2 percentage points, so shifting slightly portions of the district covering more than 20 northeastern counties could help a Republican candidate in a strong GOP year. But it could weaken districts held by GOP incumbents. The state’s top Republican legislators said their planned action follows Trump’s “call urging legislatures across the country to take action to nullify Democrat redistricting efforts.” Davis wasn’t mentioned by name in their news release.