North Carolina's 11th congressional district encompasses most of

Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United S ...

. Since January 3, 2023, the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

has been represented by

Chuck Edwards Charles Marion Edwards (born September 13, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 48th district in th ...

. The 11th district has historically been known for its volatile politics and was once considered one of the most competitive congressional districts in North Carolina. It was traditionally anchored by the heavily Democratic city of

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populous city in Western North Carolina a ...

, with the rest of the district being split between Democratic-leaning counties in the south and Republican-leaning counties in the north. Consequently, congressional races were historically hard-fought and often very close. In 2011, the Republican-controlled legislature redrew the district, shifting much of Asheville to the 10th district, where the city's Democratic tilt was diluted by the overwhelming Republican inclination of the rest of the district. The new map split Asheville in such a way that in some neighborhoods, one side of the street moved to the 10th while the other side of the street stayed in the 11th. To make up for the loss in population, the 11th absorbed some strongly Republican territory in the Foothills which had previously been in the 10th. On paper, it was one of the most Republican districts in the state. Due to the district becoming much more conservative, three-term Democratic incumbent

Heath Shuler Joseph Heath Shuler (born December 31, 1971) is an American former politician and professional football quarterback who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2013. The district covers the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Caro ...

did not run for reelection in 2012, and was succeeded by Republican

Mark Meadows Mark Randall Meadows (born July 28, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 29th White House chief of staff from 2020 to 2021 under the Trump administration. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as the U.S. representat ...

. In 2019, a panel of North Carolina judges ruled that the existing map was a partisan gerrymander, and ordered new congressional districts to be drawn ahead of the 2020 election. After review in December, a new map was approved. The district included the western part of Rutherford County and the entirety of Avery, Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey Counties. It still leans Republican, but much less so than the previous iteration, as it once again includes all of Asheville. On February 23, 2022, the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

approved a new map only for the

2022 United States House of Representatives elections The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 8, 2022, as part of the 2022 United States elections during President Joe Biden's term. Representatives were elected from all 435 U.S. congressional districts ac ...

which had removed Avery and Mitchell Counties from the district. On October 25, 2023, the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

redrew and approved a new congressional map adding Avery, and Mitchell counties back to the district while removing Rutherford County, and splitting

Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...

County, shifting those over to the 14th congressional district.

Counties

For the 119th and successive Congresses (based on the districts drawn following a 2023 legislative session), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities. Avery County (9) : All nine communities Buncombe County (13) : All 13 communities Cherokee County (3) : All three communities Clay County (1) : Hayesville Graham County (3) : All three communities Haywood County (6) : All six communities Henderson County (18) : All 18 communities Jackson County (9) : All nine communities Macon County (2) :

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

(shared with Jackson County) Madison County (3) : All three communities McDowell County (5) : All five communities Mitchell County (2) : Bakersville,

Spruce Pine A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' is the sole genus ...

Polk County (2) :

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

(part; also 14th), Saluda Swain County (3) : All three communities Transylvania County (2) : Brevard, Rosman Yancey County (1) : Burnsville

Recent election results from statewide races

List of members representing the district

Past election results

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

Notes

References

External links

Political graveyard database of North Carolina congressmen
{{coord, 35.37, -82.94, type:city_region:US-NC_source:USCensusBureau2023gazetteerfiles, display=title 1803 establishments in North Carolina 11 Mark Meadows Western North Carolina