North Carolina's 12th congressional district is a
congressional district
Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...
located mostly in
Charlotte as well as surrounding areas in
Mecklenburg County represented by Democrat
Alma Adams
Alma Shealey Adams (born May 27, 1946) is an American politician who represents North Carolina's 12th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. A Democrat, Adams represented the state's 58th House district in Guilfor ...
. Prior to the 2016 elections, it was a
gerrymandered district located in central
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
that comprised portions of Charlotte,
Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...
,
Greensboro
Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...
,
Lexington,
Salisbury
Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
,
Concord, and
High Point. With a
Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated PVI or CPVI, is a measurement of how partisan a U.S. congressional district or U.S. state is. This partisanship is indicated as lean towards either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, com ...
of D+24, it is the most
Democratic district in North Carolina.
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
Plurality may refer to:
Law and politics
* Plurality decision, in a decision by a multi-member court, an opinion held by more judges than any other but not by an overall majority
* Plurality (voting), when a candidate or proposition polls more ...
of
white Americans
White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person hav ...
in the district according to the
2000 United States census, although
African Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
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 second most
Democratic district in
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, 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
The 1990 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States to be 248,709,873, an increase of 9.8 percent over the 226,545,805 persons enumerated during the 1980 census.
Approximatel ...
, 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
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
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.
[senate.leg.state.mn.us "North Carolina Redistricting Cases: the 1990s"](_blank)
, National Conference of State Legislatures
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. 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."
The
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
ruled in ''
Shaw v. Reno
''Shaw v. Reno'', 509 U.S. 630 (1993), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark United States Supreme Court case in the area of redistricting and Gerrymandering in the United States#Racial gerrymandering, racial gerr ...
'' (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.
Subsequently, the 12th district was redrawn several times and was adjudicated in the Supreme Court on two additional occasions.
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
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
s 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
North Carolina's 1st congressional district is located in the northeastern part of the state. It consists of many Black Belt in the American South, Black Belt counties that border Virginia and it extends southward into several counties of the In ...
, must be redrawn from its post-2010 configuration, and that race could not be a mitigating factor in drawing the district. This decision, in the case of ''
Cooper v. Harris
''Cooper v. Harris'', 581 U.S. ___ (2017), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court ruled 5–3 that the North Carolina General Assembly used race t ...
'', was subsequently upheld 5−3 by the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
in an opinion by Justice
Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was Elena Kagan Supreme Court nomination ...
on May 22, 2017.
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.
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
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 ...
had approved a new map only used 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 changed the 12th district boundaries to include the northern half of
Mecklenburg County, including most of Uptown, along with eastern
Cabarrus County.
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 for the 2024 election, and shifting the district to only
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...
county.
Counties and communities
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.
Mecklenburg County (4)
:
Charlotte (part; also
8th
Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight.
Eighth may refer to:
* One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole
* Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet)
* Octave, an interval b ...
and 14th),
Matthews (part; also
8th
Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight.
Eighth may refer to:
* One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole
* Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet)
* Octave, an interval b ...
),
Mint Hill (part; also
8th
Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight.
Eighth may refer to:
* One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole
* Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet)
* Octave, an interval b ...
),
Pineville (part; also
14th)
Recent election results from statewide races
List of members representing the district
Past election results
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014 special election
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
See also
*
List of United States congressional districts
Congressional districts in the United States are electoral divisions for the purpose of electing members of the United States House of Representatives. The number of voting seats within the House of Representatives is currently set at 435, wi ...
*
North Carolina's congressional districts
References
Works cited
*
*
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{coord, 35.35, -80.75, type:city_region:US-NC_source:USCensusBureau2023gazetteerfiles, display=title
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