Republican Rep. George Holding of North Carolina plans to leave Congress after the 2020 elections, making him the first lawmaker affected by a new political map in the state.
“The newly redrawn Congressional Districts were part of the reason I have decided not to seek reelection,” Holding, 51, said in a statement Friday. “But, in addition, this is also a good time for me to step back and reflect on all that I have learned.”
Republicans currently have a 10-3 edge in North Carolina’s House delegation — a result, Democrats say, of extreme partisan gerrymandering that doesn’t reflect the split political nature of the state. Amid several lawsuits over the map, a panel of three state judges indicated this summer that it was likely to toss it and force a redrawing. So, the state legislature, dominated by Republicans, created a new map that state courts found acceptable.
The practical effect of the new political map, in place for the 2020 elections, is that North Carolina’s House delegation will shift to an 8-5 Republican majority. That’s effectively a two-seat pickup for Democrats in the state and a political insurance policy for Democrats nationally after winning the House majority in 2018, which they have to defend in next year’s elections.
The new districts are all drawn to be safely Republican or Democratic seats, and Holding found himself an odd-man-out politically. His district, the 2nd, located in the central and eastern parts of North Carolina, is set to be carved up, with pieces grafted onto several surrounding districts.
Holding, a former U.S. attorney, would have had to challenge a fellow Republican in a primary, which he opted against even though he has had success under those circumstances. In 2016, he beat House GOP colleague Renee Ellmers in a primary after a court-ordered redistricting.
Holding is unlikely to be the last North Carolina Republican congressman forced to shift electoral plans for 2020. Rep. Mark Walker, a member of the House Republican leadership, is holding open the possibility of challenging a member of his own party in a 2020 primary. His district, in the north-central portion of the state and bordering Virginia, is being dismantled under the new map. Walker is also eyeing a Republican primary run against Sen. Thom Tillis, from the right.
Holding is the 18th House Republican to announce retirement plans without seeking another office heading into the 2020 elections. Six Democrats are quitting Congress after next year, without running for something else.
