While the new North Carolina congressional districts sucked up most of the press, the North Carolina legislature also approved new maps for the North Carolina state House and state Senate Districts.
It’s easy to see why the congressional districts were the big news, because the new redistricting map takes the state from seven Democrat and seven Republican districts to 10 Republican districts and four Democrat districts with one of those four predicted to be highly competitive, which makes it possible for the Republicans to take 11 of the 14 districts.
In Guilford County there wasn’t much change in the state legislative districts. Some precincts were moved around, but according to political analysts, the political alignment of the districts should remain the same.
However, there will be at least one new face in the Guilford County legislative delegation in 2024. District 59 state Rep. Jon Hardister, who has served in the House since 2012 and was the House majority whip, is running for North Carolina Commissioner of Labor and not running for reelection to the state House. Hardister resigned as House majority whip to devote more time to his statewide campaign.
There is also an indication that another seat in the Guilford delegation may be opening up.
Republican Michelle Bardsley has announced she is running for the District 62 seat in the North Carolina state House of Representatives, but that announcement comes with a caveat.
The press release announcing Bardsley candidacy states, “With recently proposed maps from the NC legislature, Michelle Bardsley, an educator, businesswoman, and community leader, announces her plan to run for the NC State House of Representatives, District 62, if incumbent Representative Faircloth retires.”
Faircloth is serving his seventh term in the state House and has a long history of public service, having served on the High Point City Council for three terms and prior to that serving as the High Point police chief, but he has not made a formal announcement about his intentions in the 2024 election.
(Update: Faircloth has announced he won’t run for reelection in 2024.)
