North Carolina’s Republican-led legislature approved a revised congressional district map designed to add at least one more GOP seat in the U.S. House, aligning with President Donald Trump’s push for mid-decade redistricting to help Republicans maintain their narrow majority in the chamber ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
The new boundaries build on the state’s existing map, drawn by Republicans in 2023 following the 2020 census, which delivered 10 of North Carolina’s 14 House seats to the GOP in the 2024 elections—even as the swing state remains evenly split between Republican and Democratic voters.
Democratic Gov. Josh Stein lacks veto power over redistricting under state law, leaving the plan poised for implementation unless challenged in court.
This move marks the third instance this year of a Republican-controlled state legislature responding to Trump’s call for aggressive redistricting strategies, following similar actions in Texas and Missouri.
In Texas, where the push began in earnest, Republicans unveiled a proposed map on July 30, 2025, aiming to flip up to five Democratic-held seats through mid-decade adjustments.
The effort stems from a pair of long-running legal battles, including a 2024 ruling by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that overturned prior district configurations in areas like Baytown and Galveston, creating an opening for the redraw.
Texas Republicans have cited population shifts and compliance with voting rights laws as justifications, though critics argue it’s a partisan power grab encouraged by Trump. By September 2025, state officials had begun walking back some initial rationales amid scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice, but the plan remains on track for adoption.
Other GOP-led states, including Ohio, Kansas, and Indiana, are weighing or advancing comparable mid-cycle changes, capitalizing on their legislative majorities to redraw lines outside the traditional decennial census timeline. Such tactics have historical roots.
Texas itself pursued a similar mid-decade redistricting in 2003 under then-Gov. Rick Perry, who helped solidify Republican dominance in the state’s delegation.
Democrats have decried these efforts as unfair gerrymandering, but Republicans counter that many blue states have long employed similar strategies to entrench their own advantages.
For instance, Illinois Democrats have drawn maps that pack Republican voters into a handful of districts, allowing the party to hold a supermajority in the state’s congressional delegation despite competitive statewide races.
In Maryland, convoluted district shapes have helped Democrats secure seven of eight House seats in a state where Republicans routinely win about 40% of the vote.
New York Democrats attempted an aggressive gerrymander in 2022, only to have it struck down by courts, but the episode highlighted ongoing partisan map-drawing in left-wing strongholds.
Overall, both parties have a history of manipulating districts for gain, with gerrymandering often canceling out nationally but distorting representation at the state level.
In response to the Republican surge, California Democrats have placed Proposition 50 on the November 2025 ballot, a measure that would authorize temporary congressional map changes through 2030 to counter moves in Texas and other red states.
The proposition, backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Democratic Party, directs the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission to adopt legislatively influenced boundaries, potentially putting five Republican-held seats at risk in districts currently represented by figures like Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Mike Garcia.
With Republicans controlling more state legislatures than Democrats, the GOP appears positioned to net additional House seats through these maneuvers.
Democrats, who fell short in 2024, need to net just three seats to reclaim the House majority in 2026, making every district adjustment critical.
The Senate remains a tougher climb for Democrats, who must defend incumbents in red-leaning states while targeting GOP vulnerabilities.
U.S. Rep. Don Davis, a North Carolina Democrat, blasted the plan as “beyond the pale” in a statement, accusing Republicans of undermining fair elections as his 1st District faces elimination under the new map.
Trump, however, hailed the North Carolina map on social media, calling it a win for “putting America First.” State House Speaker Destin Hall echoed the sentiment by reposting Trump’s message, adding, “We’re putting America First in NC!”
As legal challenges mount and the redistricting arms race intensifies, the 2026 midterms could hinge on these behind-the-scenes battles over district lines, testing the resilience of America’s electoral system.
Eric Trump Breaks Silence: America Will Not Tolerate Political Violence After Charlie Kirk 
Eric Trump: A Family Under Siege
Eric Trump did not hold back as he recounted the relentless threats and attacks his family has faced over the past 15 months. He described watching his father nearly assassinated—twice—once on live television and again on a golf course. “I saw my father almost get assassinated the first time while watching it on high-definition TV. I got the call when they tried to kill him again on a golf course.”
For Eric, Kirk’s death was the breaking point. “Charlie is a dear friend. Now I see him die at the behest of a shooter with a long-range rifle—it is enough, it is absolutely enough. They won’t wipe his ideas off the table. If anything else, they will ground his ideas in a movement that has become so powerful.”
The Making of a Movement
Eric reminisced about meeting Charlie Kirk for the first time at Trump Tower. Kirk was just 21, brimming with ambition but lacking resources. “He spoke about this big dream of creating this incredible organization and inspiring millions and millions of kids, really redirecting the whole political conversation among youth across the country. What is a bigger goal than that? And he did it.”
Over the next decade, Eric watched Kirk transform from a dreamer into a leader, a friend to the Trump family, and an icon of the Make America Great Again movement. “He put his heart and soul into every aspect of this effort. Then to see the blood gushing out of his neck today—the truly traumatizing sight.”
America’s Youth Awakened
Eric’s voice cracked as he described the energy Kirk brought to political events. “All you saw in that crowded audience was just love. Kids engaged in the political process, wanting to get involved with politics for the first time, maybe ever. Something that ten years ago was so dull until my father reinvigorated it, and now you have the next generation—a kid who was 31 years old, giving it absolutely everything and electrifying these kids. Today he is gone, and that is hard to fathom.”
Enough Is Enough
The pain and frustration boiled over as Eric condemned the escalating violence. “We have seen enough death, enough senseless killings. I’m sick and tired of seeing the bullets—they are only going one way. First it was my father, then you saw what they tried to do to Kevin Na, to Steve Scalise, now they just killed Charlie Kirk.”
He revealed that his family regularly receives envelopes of white powder—threats that have become a grim routine. “When does the senseless nonsense stop? When is there accountability from MSNBC and NBC and everybody else who fosters this hate every single day—including today, right after that incredible man was killed? It is enough.”
The Toll of Hatred
Host Sean Hannity, clearly moved, shared his own experiences of threats and harassment. “There is a lot we go through,” he admitted. Sean and Eric discussed the unprecedented rage and hatred directed at the Trump family, questioning whether America has become numb to the dehumanizing words and relentless attacks.
Eric reflected, “We didn’t know if Charlie had been assassinated today—we just knew he was shot. And over at… they’re blaming the victim. J.B. Pritzker is blaming her father. This has been ten years chronicling all of this. Most people don’t know the backstory of all that you had to live through.”
The Book That Tells All
Eric revealed he had just released a book, “Under Siege,” detailing the endless battles his family has faced: impeachments, subpoenas, attempts to break up the family, stripping away free speech, and even multiple assassination attempts. “They tried to do everything—it didn’t work. I said to Sean, I would not be surprised if they resorted to violence, because that is who they are and that is what these people do.”
He recounted near-misses—bullets missing by millimeters, Secret Service agents foiling plots, and the constant siege on the Republican Party and the MAGA movement. “This is what ‘Under Siege’ is about. The constant attacks on my father, on our family, everything we care about—our country, our constitution, God, our beautiful family.”
A Warning for America
Eric’s warning was stark: “It has to stop in this country. We will lose our democracy if this is how our country functions.”
Sean Hannity agreed, noting that never before in American history has one man, one family, and one movement been so relentlessly targeted. “Novel legal theory, statute of limitations passed—nothing. They turn a legal misdemeanor into 34 felony counts. Nobody cares. No intellectually honest people on the left, Eric, that means they will stop at nothing. And then two assassination attempts culminating in the death of a really wonderful human being—Charlie Kirk.”
Manufactured Outrage and Media Bias
Eric lambasted the mainstream media for manufacturing outrage and spreading hoaxes. “They manufactured outrage, a Russia hoax that didn’t exist, for a three-year period, pitting the two biggest nuclear superpowers against each other. But they had nothing to say three days ago about a lunatic who’d been let out of jail 14 times, who murdered a beautiful girl on a train in Charlotte.”
He pointed to the 91 indictments against his father and wall-to-wall media coverage, contrasting it with the muted response to Kirk’s murder. “Today I hear MSNBC saying ‘shots fired at the very far right lunatic Charlie Kirk.’ You cannot believe the narrative. That’s why the average American at this point absolutely detests the media in this country. They see it.”
America’s Breaking Point
Eric argued that the American people are fed up. “It’s the reason my father won the popular vote, every single swing state, Miami-Dade county—hasn’t gone Republican in seven years, won by 11 points. This country is sick and tired of this nonsense, sick and tired of seeing lunatics terrorize our streets and cities all across this nation. Our people won’t stand for this.”