Republicans are spending millions and still may not win districts drawn to favor them
Republican candidates are struggling in congressional districts that were specifically redrawn to favor their party. Despite significant financial investment and support from Donald Trump, several districts once considered safe are now competitive toss-ups.
Why it matters
This highlights the limitations of gerrymandering and the unpredictability of voter turnout in the current political climate.
📲 Get the latest on the midterms & more in the NPR App
Starting last year, President Trump and his political team put pressure on Republican-led states to redraw congressional district lines to favor Republicans. It was supposed to build a firewall for Republicans hoping to avoid the historical pattern of heavy midterm losses for the president's party.
"It just has not turned out that way," said Nathan Gonzales, editor of Inside Elections.
Instead, Republicans are spending millions of dollars on House seats that were supposed to deliver easy wins and may end up losing them anyway.
Among those districts is North Carolina's 1st Congressional District, which the state legislature aggressively redrew late last year to try to make it a reliably Republican district. Under the new lines, Trump would have won the district by more than 11 percentage points in 2024. Now it is widely considered a toss up.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in