North Carolina Republican Senator Phil Berger is reportedly set to accept an endorsement from Trump in his 2026 primary in exchange for redrawing the state’s congressional maps, multiple sources told CBS 17. Berger, who has led the state Senate for years, is facing his first serious challenge from Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.
While Berger is potentially chasing Trump’s approval, North Carolina is still without a state budget, three months into the fiscal year, and recently missed a critical Medicaid funding deadline. Despite controlling both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly, Republicans still have not passed a comprehensive budget, threatening more than a billion dollars in federal funding, health care access, teacher pay raises, and Hurricane Helene recovery aid for small businesses.
In 2022, North Carolina voters elected an even split of Democrats and Republicans to Congress under fair maps that reflected the state’s bipartisan makeup. As soon as they could, state Republicans redrew those maps to give themselves a 10–4 advantage.
Now, in the midst of national battles over redistricting fueled by the Trump administration, reports suggest Berger is considering redrawing Congressional District 1 to weaken U.S. Rep. Don Davis, North Carolina’s only Black male member of Congress.
If true, Berger’s willingness to undermine the will of North Carolina voters just to secure Trump’s backing shows that his priorities lie opposite to the foundation of our democracy — that voters choose their representatives, not the other way around. Allowing Republicans to cherry-pick their own voters would be a blatant disservice to the people of North Carolina.
Berger denied the rumor in a post to X, saying that he never talked to President Trump about maps or receiving an endorsement. However, Berger did not deny that Republicans would redraw the maps if they “had” to.
Read more from CBS 17.
