With NC political maps about to be drawn, some lawmakers are leaving. Why it matters.

Four North Carolina state lawmakers have now announced that they will not run for reelection in 2022, as the Republican-controlled General Assembly is preparing to redraw state legislative and congressional districts.

That means some lawmakers who have announced they aren’t running for another term don’t yet know exactly how easy, or difficult, being reelected may be. But data on how the state’s population has shifted over a decade, released last month by the Census, signaled some lawmakers’ districts are expected to change significantly — a likely driver in some legislators’ decisions to retire.

The latest lawmaker to announce his departure is North Carolina state Sen. Ben Clark, of Raeford, who is known for siding with Republicans on some largely partisan issues and being a point-person for Democrats in redistricting. While lawmakers haven’t yet formally begun drawing maps, a Republican political consulting group’s analysis shows Clark would likely be placed in the same district as Republican Sen. Danny Britt, which could make a Democratic win there more difficult.

State Rep. Charles Graham, a Democrat from Lumberton, announced his plans to run for Congress without knowing what those districts will look like. Former President Donald Trump won the part of the state that includes Graham’s state House district in 2020, indicating it might be difficult for a Democrat to win there.

Both Clark and Graham have voted with the majority party at times on bills that were largely rejected by Democrats, like budget proposals and abortion restrictions.

With Republicans in charge of redistricting and many of the state’s Democratic voters concentrated in a few urban counties, the GOP has a solid shot at gaining three seats in the House and two in the Senate in 2022 needed to override gubernatorial vetoes.

The departure of long-serving Democratic incumbents, especially those in increasingly Republican-leaning districts, may make it easier to do that.

In an interview with The News & Observer, Clark said that “all options are on the table,” in what will come following his decision to not run for reelection, including a run for another office. Clark has served in the legislature since 2013.

“I’ve been considering for some time now whether I want to continue on after that 10-year mark,” Clark said. Leaving after this term puts him in a position to “run for some other office,” if he chooses do so, he said.

Also retiring next year:

• Rep. Verla Insko, of Chapel Hill, who is the longest serving Democrat in the legislature and has consistently advocated for expanding health care access, The News & Observer previously reported.

• Rep. Larry Pittman, a Republican from Concord, who has repeatedly made headlines for his fiery and outside-the-mainstream comments. Pittman once said many mass shooters “turn out to be communist Democrats.”

Sen. Wiley Nickel, a Democrat from Cary, is considering a run for North Carolina’s new 14th Congressional District depending on what that district looks like after the map-drawing process is completed but said he is currently planning to run for reelection to his state Senate seat.

All North Carolina state lawmakers’ terms end December 31, 2022, but in just under three months, when candidates must declare their plans to run for election, more legislators may announce their departures.

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