North Carolina's 12th congressional district

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North Carolina's 12th congressional district
North Carolina's 12th congressional district (2023-2025).svg
North Carolina's 12th congressional district
North Carolina's 12th congressional district (since 2025).svg
North Carolina's 12th congressional district
Interactive map of district boundaries
Representative
Population (2023)772,165 [1]
Median household
income		$78,809 [1]
Ethnicity
Cook PVI D+13 [2]

North Carolina's 12th congressional district is a congressional district located in the northern and eastern portions of Charlotte as well as surrounding areas in Mecklenburg County and Cabarrus County represented by Democrat Alma Adams. Prior to the 2016 elections, it was a gerrymandered district located in central North Carolina that comprised portions of Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Lexington, Salisbury, Concord, and High Point. [3]

Contents

It was one of two minority-majority Congressional districts created in the state in the 1990s. Between 2003 and 2013, there was a small plurality of white Americans in the district according to the 2000 United States census, although African Americans made up a comparable proportion of the voting population. As redrawn for the 2012 elections and under the lines used prior to the 2016 elections, the district had an African-American majority according to the 2010 United States census. The 12th district is the most Democratic district in North Carolina, and it has never been represented by a Republican.

North Carolina had a twelfth seat in the House in the early nineteenth century (1803–1843) and in the mid-twentieth century (1943–1963). Most of the territory in the district's second incarnation is now in the 11th district.

History

The district was re-established after the 1990 United States census, when North Carolina gained a House seat due to an increase in population. It was drawn in 1992 as one of two minority-majority districts, designed to give African-American voters (who comprised 22% of the state's population at the time) the chance to elect a representative of their choice; Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibited the dilution of voting power of minorities by distributing them among districts so that they could never elect candidates of their choice. [4]

In its original configuration, the district had a 64 percent African-American majority in population. The district boundaries, stretching from Gastonia to Durham, were so narrow at some points that it was no wider than a highway lane. It followed Interstate 85 almost exactly. [5] [6] One state legislator famously remarked, after seeing the district map, "if you drove down the interstate with both car doors open, you'd kill most of the people in the district." [7] [8]

The United States Supreme Court ruled in Shaw v. Reno (1993) that a racial gerrymander may, in some circumstances, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.

The state legislature defended the two minority-majority districts as based on demographics, with the 12th representing people of the interior Piedmont area and the 1st the Coastal Plain. [4] Subsequently, the 12th district was redrawn several times and was adjudicated in the Supreme Court on two additional occasions. [4] The version created after the 2000 census was approved by the U.S. Supreme Court in Hunt v. Cromartie . The district's configuration dating from the 2000 census had a small plurality of whites, and it was changed only slightly after the 2010 census. African Americans make up a large majority of registered voters and Hispanics constitute 7.1% of residents.

On February 5, 2016, U.S. Circuit Judge Roger L. Gregory ruled that the district, along with North Carolina's 1st congressional district, [9] must be redrawn from its post-2010 configuration, [10] and that race could not be a mitigating factor in drawing the district. [11] This decision, in the case of Cooper v. Harris , was subsequently upheld 5−3 by the U.S. Supreme Court in an opinion by Justice Elena Kagan on May 22, 2017. [12] In the opinion, Justice Kagan noted that this marked the fifth time the 12th district had appeared before the Supreme Court, following Shaw v. Reno and Hunt v. Cromartie which had both been heard twice before the Court. [13]

In all of its configurations, it has been a Democratic stronghold. Its previous incarnation was dominated by black voters in Charlotte, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem. The redrawn map made the 12th a compact district comprising nearly all of Mecklenburg County, except the southeast quadrant. Due to Charlotte's heavy swing to the Democrats in recent years, the reconfigured 12th is no less Democratic than its predecessor.

On February 23, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court approved a new map which changed the 12th district boundaries to include the northern half of Mecklenburg County, including most of Uptown, along with eastern Cabarrus County. [14]

List of members representing the district

Member
(Residence)		PartyYearsCong
ress		Electoral historyDistrict location
District established March 4, 1803
Col. Joseph Winston.jpeg
Joseph Winston
(Surry County)		 Democratic-Republican March 4, 1803 –
March 3, 1807		 8th
9th 		Elected in 1803.
Re-elected in 1804.
Retired.		1803–1813
"North Carolina congressional district map (1803–13)". [15]
Meshack Franklin
(Scullcamp)		 Democratic-Republican March 4, 1807 –
March 3, 1813		 10th
11th
12th 		Elected in 1806.
Re-elected in 1808.
Re-elected in 1810.
Redistricted to the 13th district .
1813–1823
"North Carolina congressional district map (1813–43)". [15]
Pickensisrael.jpg
Israel Pickens
(Morgantown)		 Democratic-Republican March 4, 1813 –
March 3, 1817		 13th
14th 		Redistricted from the 11th district and re-elected in 1813.
Re-elected in 1815.
Retired.
Felix Walker
(Waynesville)		 Democratic-Republican March 4, 1817 –
March 3, 1823		 15th
16th
17th 		Elected in 1817.
Re-elected in 1819.
Re-elected in 1821.
Lost re-election.
Robert B. Vance
(Nashville)		 Democratic-Republican March 4, 1823 –
March 3, 1825		 18th Elected in 1823.
Lost re-election.		1823–1833
"North Carolina congressional district map (1813–43)". [15]
SamuelPriceCarson.jpg
Samuel P. Carson
(Pleasant Garden)		 Jacksonian March 4, 1825 –
March 3, 1833		 19th
20th
21st
22nd 		Elected in 1825.
Re-elected in 1827.
Re-elected in 1829.
Re-elected in 1831.
[ data missing ]
JamesGrahamNC.jpg
James Graham
(Rutherfordton)		 Anti-Jacksonian March 4, 1833 –
March 29, 1836		 23rd
24th 		Elected in 1833.
Re-elected in 1835.
Seat declared vacant.		1833–1843
"North Carolina congressional district map (1813–43)". [15]
VacantMarch 29, 1836 –
December 5, 1836		 24th
JamesGrahamNC.jpg
James Graham
(Rutherfordton)		 Anti-Jacksonian December 5, 1836 –
March 3, 1837		 24th
25th
26th
27th 		Elected in 1836 to finish his term.
Also elected in 1837 to the next term.
Re-elected in 1839.
Re-elected in 1841.
Redistricted to the 1st congressional district and lost re-election.
Whig March 4, 1837 –
March 3, 1843
District dissolved March 4, 1843
District re-established January 3, 1943
ZebulonWeaver.jpg
Zebulon Weaver
(Asheville)		 Democratic January 3, 1943 –
January 3, 1947		 78th
79th 		Redistricted from the 11th congressional district and re-elected in 1942.
Re-elected in 1944.
Lost renomination.
REDDIN, MONROE M. HONORABLE LCCN2016862787 (cropped).jpg
Monroe M. Redden
(Hendersonville)		 Democratic January 3, 1947 –
January 3, 1953		 80th
81st
82nd 		Elected in 1946.
Re-elected in 1948.
Retired.
George Shuford.jpg
George A. Shuford
(Asheville)		 Democratic January 3, 1953 –
January 3, 1959		 83rd
84th
85th 		Elected in 1952.
Re-elected in 1954.
Re-elected in 1956.
Renominated but later withdrew because of ill health.
David M. Hall (Congressman 1918-1960) 1959.jpg
David M. Hall
(Sylva)		 Democratic January 3, 1959 –
January 29, 1960		 86th Elected in 1958.
Died.
VacantJanuary 29, 1960 –
June 25, 1960
Roy A. Taylor 93rd Congress 1973.jpg
Roy A. Taylor
(Black Mountain)		 Democratic June 25, 1960 –
January 3, 1963		 86th
87th 		Elected to finish Hall's term.
Re-elected in 1960.
Redistricted to the 11th district .
District dissolved January 3, 1963
District re-established January 3, 1993
Melvinwatt.jpg
Mel Watt
(Charlotte)		 Democratic January 3, 1993 –
January 6, 2014		 103rd
104th
105th
106th
107th
108th
109th
110th
111th
112th
113th 		Elected in 1992.
Re-elected in 1994.
Re-elected in 1996.
Re-elected in 1998.
Re-elected in 2000.
Re-elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Re-elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Re-elected in 2010.
Re-elected in 2012.
Resigned to become director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.		1993–2003
[ data missing ]
2003–2013
2003-2013 NC-Congress-12.PNG
2003–2013
2013–2017
2013-2017 North Carolina US Congressional District 12 (since 2013).tif
2013–2017
VacantJanuary 6, 2014 –
November 4, 2014		 113th
Alma Adams official portrait (cropped 2).jpg
Alma Adams
(Charlotte)		 Democratic November 4, 2014 –
present		 113th
114th
115th
116th
117th
118th 		Elected to finish Watt's term.
Also elected in 2014 to the next term.
Re-elected in 2016.
Re-elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020.
Re-elected in 2022.
2017–2021
North Carolina US Congressional District 12 (since 2017).tif
2021–2023
Static map of 2020-3 congressional district North Carolina's 12th congressional district (since 2021).png
Static map of 2020-3 congressional district
2023–2025
North Carolina's 12th congressional district (2023-2025) (new version).svg

Past election results

2002

2002 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [16]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Mel Watt (incumbent)98,82165.34
Republican Jeff Kish49,58832.79
Libertarian Carey Head2,8301.87
Turnout 151,239100.00
Democratic hold

2004

2004 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [17]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Mel Watt (incumbent)154,90866.83
Republican Ada Fisher 76,89833.17
Turnout 231,806100.00
Democratic hold

2006

2006 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [18]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Mel Watt (incumbent)71,34567.01
Republican Ada Fisher 35,12732.99
Turnout 106,472100.00
Democratic hold

2008

2008 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Mel Watt (incumbent)215,90871.56
Republican Ty Cobb, Jr.85,81428.44
Turnout 301,722100.00
Democratic hold

2010

2010 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [20]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Mel Watt (incumbent) 103,495 63.88
Republican Greg Dority55,31534.14
Libertarian Lon Cecil3,1971.97
Total votes162,007 100.00
Democratic hold

2012

2012 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [21]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Melvin Watt (incumbent) 247,591 79.6
Republican Jack Brosch63,31720.4
Total votes310,908 100.0
Democratic hold

2014 special election

2014 North Carolina's 12th congressional district special election [22]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Alma Adams 127,668 75.43%
Republican Vince Coakley41,57824.57%
Total votes169,246 100.0%
Democratic hold

2014

2014 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [23]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Alma Adams 130,096 75.4
Republican Vince Coakley42,56824.6
Total votes172,664 100.0
Democratic hold

2016

2016 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [24]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Alma Adams (incumbent) 234,115 67.0
Republican Leon Threatt115,18533.0
Total votes349,300 100.0
Democratic hold

2018

2018 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [25]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Alma Adams (incumbent) 203,974 73.1
Republican Paul Wright75,16426.9
Total votes279,138 100.0
Democratic hold

2020

2020 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [26]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Alma Adams (incumbent) 341,457 100.0
Total votes341,457 100.0
Democratic hold

2022

2022 North Carolina's 12th congressional district election [27]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Alma Adams (incumbent) 140,494 62.75
Republican Tyler Lee83,41437.25
Total votes223,908 100.00
Democratic hold

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "My Congressional District". census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau Center for New Media and Promotion (CNMP).
  2. ↑ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (State-based)". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 senate.leg.state.mn.us "North Carolina Redistricting Cases: the 1990s" Archived March 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , National Conference of State Legislatures
  5. ↑ "Electoral Vote Reforms". politicsnj.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2007.
  6. ↑ "State Profile -- North Carolina". CNN. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Thomas right to oppose racial 'homelands'". The Item. August 17, 1994.
  8. ↑ "12th District's History, Future Will Be Getting More Attention". WFAE. May 15, 2013.
  9. ↑ Simpson, Ian (February 8, 2016). "Judges find two N. Carolina congressional districts racially gerrymandered". Reuters. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  10. ↑ Choate, Paul (February 5, 2016). "Federal court invalidates maps of North Carolina's 1st, 12th congressional districts". High Point, NC: WGHP FOX8. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Judges strike down 1st, 12th Districts". The Times-News. Burlington, NC. The Associated Press. February 6, 2016.
  12. ↑ Howe, Amy (May 22, 2017). "Opinion analysis: Court strikes down N.C. districts in racial gerrymandering challenge". SCOTUSblog . Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Opinion of the Supreme Court" (PDF). www.supremecourt.gov. May 19, 2017.
  14. ↑ Doule, Steve (February 23, 2022). "Check out new election maps: NC Supreme Court rejects appeals, approves special masters' districts". WGHP . Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Data Courtesy of Jeffrey B. Lewis, Brandon DeVine, and Lincoln Pritcher with Kenneth C. Martis". United States Congressional District Shapefiles.
  16. ↑ "2002 General Election Results US House (12th District)". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
  17. ↑ "2004 General Election Results US House (12th District)". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 11, 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  18. ↑ "2006 General Election Results US House (12th District)". North Carolina State Board of Elections. Retrieved January 11, 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  19. ↑ "2008 General Election". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  20. ↑ "US House of Representatives district 12". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  21. ↑ "North Carolina General Elections Results 2012". results.enr.clarityelections.com. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  22. ↑ "NC SBE Contest Results".
  23. ↑ "11/04/2014 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". ncsbe.gov/. Archived from the original on January 27, 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  24. ↑ "11/08/2016 OFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - STATEWIDE". ncsbe.gov. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  25. ↑ "District 12, North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement". North Carolina State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  26. ↑ "November 03, 2020 General Election Results by Contest" (PDF). amazonaws.com. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  27. ↑ "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved January 2, 2023.

Works cited

35°21′N80°45′W / 35.35°N 80.75°W / 35.35; -80.75

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