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

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Works cited

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