Mecklenburg Democrat says ‘blatantly rigged’ redistricting may force her to move

A Charlotte-area state senator says she’ll consider moving to stay in office amid “blatantly rigged” redistricting proposals.

State Sen. Natasha Marcus, a Democrat who currently represents Senate District 41 in Mecklenburg County, said in a statement Friday Republicans’ treatment of her district in their newly released redistricting plan is “one of the more egregious examples of them carving up our state in order to deny voters the ability to choose their representative.”

“Republican map drawers cut a line through my hometown of Davidson, putting most of the town in a new district that is based in Iredell County, and leaving part of Davidson in a new district which is currently represented by Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, who lives fairly far away in east Charlotte,” Marcus said.

She said her current home is in a part of Davidson that’s moved to the district mostly in Iredell County represented by Republican Sen. Vickie Sawyer. The new district Marcus and Sawyer are drawn into leans Republican by a margin of 62% to 35%, according to analysis by Dave’s Redistricting, which analyzes data from previous elections.

“The mapmakers knew exactly where my house is and seemingly did this on purpose to try to squeeze me out of the NC Senate,” Marcus said.

Marcus’s options include, she said, moving to the new Senate District 41 — which includes west and center city Charlotte — moving to a different Senate district “or running for another office completely.”

She said that it’s “too early” to make a final decision on her future because “the maps are not yet final.”

“I am considering my choices and will update you when I know more,” her statement said. “Whatever I end up doing, I hope to be in a position to advocate for fair elections and democratic principles like the importance of allowing voters to choose their representatives, instead of the other way around.”

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Marcus slammed the Republicans’ maps as “the opposite of fair.”

“The district maps that Republican legislators drew in secret and unveiled this week are the most blatantly rigged schemes I’ve ever seen,” she said. “The gerrymandered districts twist and curl like apple skins falling from my grandma’s vegetable peeler.”

Republican state Sen. Warren Daniel, a top mapmaker, told WRAL “political considerations are now allowed to be used” in redistricting.

“So it might be that that criteria explains some of the changes,” he said.

Marcus isn’t the only Democrat to raise concerns about Republicans’ maps.

State Sen. Lisa Grafstein, whose current district sits in northwest Raleigh and northeast Raleigh, said this week the new maps “take a sledgehammer to Wake County” and that she, too, was considering moving to a new district to run for another term, The Raleigh News & Observer reported.

And U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson, a Democrat whose current district includes parts of Mecklenburg County, said on social media Republican’s new congressional maps are “a brutal gerrymander” and that he’s “probably toast in Congress” under the proposed redistricting.

North Carolina Republicans released their slate of proposed electoral maps Wednesday, and they’re now moving through the Republican-led state legislature. Some maps have previously been struck down by lawsuits.

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