What to know about NC Republicans’ effort to flip a U.S. House seat through redistricting – WRAL News

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What to know about NC Republicans’ effort to flip a U.S. House seat through redistricting

North Carolina Republicans are preparing to redraw the state’s congressional districts in an effort to help the GOP protect its control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Here’s a breakdown of what to expect.

Posted 4:24 p.m. Oct 17,  Updated 2:15 p.m. Today

By Will Doran and  Paul Specht, WRAL News

North Carolina Republicans are forging ahead with plans to redraw the state’s congressional districts further in their favor as President Donald Trump urges a nationwide gerrymandering effort to help the GOP maintain control of Congress in 2026.

The North Carolina redistricting process kicks off Monday with state House and Senate committees meeting to discuss a newly proposed map of the districts. Lawmakers could vote to approve the map as early as Tuesday, the same day Democrats are planning a large protest in downtown Raleigh around the legislative building.

The proposed map would give the GOP an edge in a northeastern North Carolina district that has been represented by Democrats for decades. If approved, the districts would likely be challenged in court.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s happening and why.

What are congressional districts, and how are they determined?

Each of the 50 states is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives, in different amounts. The seats are allocated based on population: The more people in a state, the more representatives that state gets in the 435-seat House.

North Carolina has the 10th-biggest population in the country and has 14 seats in the House.

The seats are divvied up every ten years. Each state is responsible for creating a map that features the appropriate number of districts, each with roughly the same number of people.

The redistricting process varies by state. Some states appoint political commissions to tackle redistricting. Some also design those commissions to be politically neutral. But in most states, including North Carolina, state legislators draw the maps themselves — and often to give their own party a built-in advantage, using past election results and other data, a process known as gerrymandering.

Why are lawmakers redrawing congressional districts now?

The president’s party typically loses seats in Congress in midterm elections, and that trend appeared likely to continue next year since Trump’s polling numbers have been falling in recent months.

Trump, a Republican, wants the GOP to maintain control of the U.S. House to ensure that his legislative priorities are accomplished. Republicans control the chamber by only a slim margin currently — 218 seats are needed for a majority, and the GOP has 219.

Republican state leaders across the country have jumped into action to redraw their congressional maps ahead of 2026, hoping that a new round of gerrymandering will be enough to maintain that majority and stomp out growing popular support for Democrats.

Continue/Read Original Article: https://www.wral.com/story/what-to-know-about-nc-republicans-effort-to-flip-a-u-s-house-seat-through-redistricting/22203613/

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Fact check: Would GOP bill strip Medicaid, health care from 13 million Americans? – WRAL News

PolitifactNC
Fact check: Would GOP bill strip Medicaid, health care from 13 million Americans?

“Republicans just unveiled their ‘big, beautiful bill,’ which will take Medicaid & health insurance away from 13.7 million Americans, shutter hospitals & cause premiums to skyrocket across the country. Insane,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a May 12 X post.

Image of Sanders’ post…

Posted 9:57 a.m. Yesterday – Updated 1:50 p.m. Yesterday

By Louis Jacobson and Amy Sherman, PolitiFact reporters

The Republican proposal to cut federal spending will end up kicking millions of Americans off health insurance, including Medicaid, Democrats say.

“Republicans just unveiled their ‘big, beautiful bill,’ which will take Medicaid & health insurance away from 13.7 million Americans, shutter hospitals & cause premiums to skyrocket across the country. Insane,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a May 12 X post. Sanders was referring to President Donald Trump’s name for the big budget bill.

Many other Democrats cited the same estimate — 13.7 million.

The figure stems from an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, Congress’ nonpartisan budget-analysis arm. But CBO offered several estimates, and Sanders, like other Democrats, focused on the highest one. The bill — if it became law — would remove 8.6 million Americans from Medicaid, CBO said.

The 13.7 million figure includes changes being considered but not part of the budget bill now being debated.

“The actual effect on coverage depends on what is signed into law, how program changes are implemented by the state, and changes in the overall economy,” said Joseph Antos, a health care specialist with the conservative American Enterprise Institute. But he added, “It’s close enough for government work.

KFF, which includes PolitiFact partner KFF Health News, found that if these changes go into effect, it would reverse years of falling uninsured rates that followed the Affordable Care Act’s implementation.

The future of the legislation is uncertain. The House Budget Committee voted down a comprehensive draft bill amid a conservative Republican backlash May 16. Some Senate Republicans have criticized the House legislation’s Medicaid provisions, among other changes. Trump, who said in May he would not cut Medicaid, called for Republicans to unite behind the legislation.
House committee budget plan is one reason that millions would lose coverage

Republicans are looking for massive budget cuts to meet the goal of fully extending Trump’s 2017 tax bill and adding new tax cuts without exploding the federal deficit. The House Republican budget plan adopted Feb. 25 opened the door to reducing spending on Medicaid, even though it doesn’t name the program.

That budget plan directed the House Energy and Commerce Committee to find ways to cut the deficit by at least $880 billion over the next decade. With Trump opposing cuts to Medicare, the only target that’s big enough to support such cuts is Medicaid.

Medicaid, a health care program for low-income people, provides services for about one in five Americans.

Read more: Fact check: Would GOP bill strip Medicaid, health care from 13 million Americans? – WRAL News

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