North Carolina's 12th congressional district

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North Carolina's 12th congressional district is a congressional district located mostly in Charlotte as well as surrounding areas in Mecklenburg 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.^[1] With a Cook Partisan Voting Index 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 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 second 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.^[2]

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.^[3]^[4] 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."^[5]^[6]

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.^[2] Subsequently, the 12th district was redrawn several times and was adjudicated in the Supreme Court on two additional occasions.^[2] 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,^[7] must be redrawn from its post-2010 configuration,^[8] and that race could not be a mitigating factor in drawing the district.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

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 had approved a new map only used for the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections which had changed the 12th district boundaries to include the northern half of Mecklenburg County, including most of Uptown, along with eastern Cabarrus County.^[12]

On October 25, 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly redrew and approved a new congressional map for the 2024 election, and shifting the district to only Mecklenburg 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.^[13]^[14]^[15]

Mecklenburg County (4)

Charlotte (part; also 8th and 14th), Matthews (part; also 8th), Mint Hill (part; also 8th), Pineville (part; also 14th)

Recent election results from statewide races

Year	Office	Results^[16]
2008	President	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Obama 70% - 29%
	Senate	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Hagan 69% - 28%
	Governor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Perdue 58% - 40%
2010	Senate	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Marshall 62% - 36%
2012	President	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Obama 71% - 29%
2012	Governor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Dalton 58% - 40%
2014	Senate	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Hagan 69% - 28%
2016	President	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Clinton 71% - 25%
	Senate	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Ross 68% - 29%
	Governor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Cooper 71% - 27%
	Lt. Governor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Coleman 67% - 29%
	Secretary of State	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Marshall 73% - 27%
	Auditor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Wood 71% - 29%
	Attorney General	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Stein 72% - 28%
	Treasurer	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Blue III 68% - 32%
2020	President	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Biden 74% - 24%
	Senate	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Cunningham 70% - 26%
	Governor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Cooper 75% - 23%
	Lt. Governor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Lewis Holley 73% - 27%
	Secretary of State	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Marshall 75% - 25%
	Auditor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Wood 74% - 26%
	Attorney General	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Stein 74% - 26%
	Treasurer	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Chatterji 70% - 30%
2022	Senate	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Beasley 73% - 25%
2024	President	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Harris 72% - 26%
	Governor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Stein 77% - 18%
	Lt. Governor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Hunt 73% - 24%
	Secretary of State	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Marshall 74% - 26%
	Auditor	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Holmes 74% - 26%
	Attorney General	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Jackson 76% - 24%
	Treasurer	align="right" style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading"\|Harris 71% - 29%

List of members representing the district

Member (Residence)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
District established March 4, 1803
File:Col. Joseph Winston.jpeg Joseph Winston (Surry County)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1807	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected in 1803. Re-elected in 1804. Retired.	1803–1813 Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".^[17]
Meshack Franklin (Scullcamp)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1813	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Re-elected in 1810. Redistricted to the Template:Ushr.
	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1813	Template:USCongressOrdinal		1813–1823 Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".^[17]
File:Pickensisrael.jpg Israel Pickens (Morgantown)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1817	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Redistricted from the Template:Ushr and re-elected in 1813. Re-elected in 1815. Retired.
Felix Walker (Waynesville)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1823	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected in 1817. Re-elected in 1819. Re-elected in 1821. Lost re-election.
Robert B. Vance (Nashville)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected in 1823. Lost re-election.	1823–1833 Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".^[17]
File:SamuelPriceCarson.jpg Samuel P. Carson (Pleasant Garden)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	style="background-color:Template:Party color" \| Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1833	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected in 1825. Re-elected in 1827. Re-elected in 1829. Re-elected in 1831. Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
File:JamesGrahamNC.jpg James Graham (Rutherfordton)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1833 – March 29, 1836	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected in 1833. Re-elected in 1835. Seat declared vacant.	1833–1843 Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".^[17]
Vacant		March 29, 1836 – December 5, 1836	Template:USCongressOrdinal
File:JamesGrahamNC.jpg James Graham (Rutherfordton)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	Anti-Jacksonian	December 5, 1836 – March 3, 1837	Template:USCongressOrdinal	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 Template:Ushr and lost re-election.
	style="background-color:Template:Party color" \| Whig	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1843	Template:USCongressOrdinal
District dissolved March 4, 1843
District re-established January 3, 1943
File:ZebulonWeaver.jpg Zebulon Weaver (Asheville)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" \| Democratic	January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1947	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Redistricted from the Template:Ushr and re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Lost renomination.
File:REDDIN, MONROE M. HONORABLE LCCN2016862787 (cropped).jpg Monroe M. Redden (Hendersonville)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" \| Democratic	January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1953	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Retired.
File:George Shuford.jpg George A. Shuford (Asheville)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" \| Democratic	January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1959	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Renominated but later withdrew because of ill health.
File:David M. Hall (Congressman 1918-1960) 1959.jpg David M. Hall (Sylva)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" \| Democratic	January 3, 1959 – January 29, 1960	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected in 1958. Died.
Vacant		January 29, 1960 – June 25, 1960	Template:USCongressOrdinal
File:Roy A. Taylor 93rd Congress 1973.jpg Roy A. Taylor (Black Mountain)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" \| Democratic	June 25, 1960 – January 3, 1963	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected to finish Hall's term. Re-elected in 1960. Redistricted to the Template:Ushr.
District dissolved January 3, 1963
District re-established January 3, 1993
File:Melvinwatt.jpg Mel Watt (Charlotte)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".	rowspan=3 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" \| Democratic	January 3, 1993 – January 6, 2014	Template:USCongressOrdinal	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 Template:Dm
	2003–2013 2003–2013 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 2003–2013 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
	2013–2017 2013–2017 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 2013–2017 Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
Vacant		January 6, 2014 – November 4, 2014	Template:USCongressOrdinal
File:Alma Adams official portrait (cropped 2).jpg Alma Adams (Charlotte)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".		rowspan=5 style="color:black;background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/shading" \| Democratic	November 4, 2014 – present	Template:USCongressOrdinal	Elected to finish Watt's term. Elected to full term in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.
		2017–2021 File:North Carolina US Congressional District 12 (since 2017).tif
	2021–2023 Static map of 2020-3 congressional district Static map of 2020-3 congressional district
	2023–2025 District boundaries from 2023 to 2025
	2025–present File:North Carolina's 12th congressional district (since 2025) (new version).svg