Butterfield will not be running for a 10th term in Congress; Blame Gerrymandering

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North Carolina Democratic Representative GK Butterfield has announced he will not run for a 10th term in Congress due to a “racially gerrymandered” map drafted by his state’s Republican-led legislature.

“I made the difficult decision not to represent myself,” Butterfield said in a YouTube video posted Thursday. “It’s time for me to retire and let the torch pass to someone who shares the values ​​of the neighborhood and who can continue the work I have worked so hard for the past 18 years.

“Every 10 years, the North Carolina legislature promulgates a new congressional map. The map that was recently enacted by the legislature is a partisan map. It is racist. It will disadvantage African American communities throughout the First District. of Congress, ”he continued. .

Butterfield added that he was “terribly disappointed” with his state’s Republican-majority legislature for “putting their party politics above the best interests of the North Carolinians” with their card.

Republican state lawmakers approved the cards on Nov. 4, with all of the state’s Congressional Democrats voting against their approval.

State Democrats and legal protesters of the newly drawn cards said the cards group the majority of the state’s Democratic voters into three districts, leaving 10 predominantly Republican districts and a single competitive district, The News & reported. Observe.

Card challengers say the redistribution will help Republicans retain their majority in the state House and Senate.

North Carolina Democratic Representative GK Butterfield has announced he will not run for a 10th term in Congress due to a “racially gerrymandered” map drafted by his state’s Republican-led legislature. In this photo, Butterfield speaks at a press conference following the House of Representatives vote on HR 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, at the United States Capitol on August 24, 2021. Anna Moneymaker / Getty

The maps specifically target the Butterfield neighborhood. He removed the town of Greenville and surrounding areas from his district and added several rural and conservative counties to the border with Virginia. The result makes the neighborhood much more republican.

Two lawsuits have challenged the cards, one by the North Carolina League of Conservation Voters and the other by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group led by former United States Attorney General Eric Holder.

Democrats fear that cards gerrymandered in North Carolina and other states could help Republicans win back a majority in the United States House in the 2022 midterm election.

Butterfield said he remains hopeful the courts will overturn the card and ensure a fair card is passed instead.

However, Michael Li, a voting attorney with the liberal Brennan Center for Justice in New York City, said he was concerned Republicans would win the next election on the basis of the cards before the lawsuits against them. them are not decided.

“It will probably take half a decade or more for these cases to be judged,” Li said. “In the meantime, [Republicans] reap the rewards of your ill-gotten gains. “

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