Rowan County would lose a longtime representative and gain two new ones in the proposed Congressional redistricting plan released today by Republican leaders in the N.C. General Assembly.
According to the proposal, U.S. Rep. Howard Coble’s 6th District would recede from Rowan, while fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx would see her 5th District stretched to include northwestern Rowan.
The new plan would also put most of southern and eastern Rowan in the 8th Congressional District now represented by U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell, a Democrat. U.S. Rep. Mel Watt’s 12th District would still extend through Rowan, but would lose ground in the eastern part of the county and cut a narrower swath through the center.
Political observers say the new map would strengthen GOP-incumbent districts and attempts to shift the balance toward the Republican Party in districts now represented by Democrats, including Kissell’s, which would pick up part of a strong GOP county in Rowan.
New districts, when adopted, will be set for the next 10 years.
To see the complete proposal for U.S. House redistricting, click here.