The longtime Democratic lawmaker is being put into a district that favored Republican candidates in 2016. 

Longtime Democratic legislator Elmer Floyd of Fayetteville could lose his seat in the legislature next year to a Republican under new district maps produced by the legislature’s nonpartisan redistricting process last week. 

Meanwhile, Republican state Rep. John Szoka would also have to work hard to retain his seat. 

Some of the legislature’s district maps are being redrawn to comply with a court order that found they are unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders.  These include the four House districts in Cumberland County.  Cumberland County’s two Senate districts were not ruled unconstitutional so they aren’t being revised. 

Get the news delivered to your inbox: Sign up for our daily and weekly newsletters

According to statistics in Dave’s Redistricting App, a publicly available, free to use online map-drawing program, Cumberland County’s new House maps may shift Cumberland County from having three House Democrats and one House Republican to two Democrats and two Republicans. 

The numbers in the two potentially Republican districts are tight. 

The details:

Elmer Floyd

Floyd has District 43, which mostly strong Democratic precincts in northern and northeastern Fayetteville. 

The new 43rd District covers all of Cumberland County east of the Cape Fear River, the Linden area north of Fayetteville, plus precincts in eastern, central and southern Fayetteville.  Many of these precincts are heavily Repbublican, but some are heavily Democratic. 

Floyd last week tried to persuade the House Redistricting Committee to take away some of the Republican precincts and add back some of the Democratic precincts he currently serves.  The committee rejected his request. 

This new district’s presidential election results in 2016: 49.4% Republican, 47.1% Democratic, 3.5% other.  The voters also gave the edge to the Republican candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, state attorney general and U.S. Senate. 

John Szoka

Szoka’s current territory, District 45, was cited in the court ruling as a partisan gerrymander because it circles three-quarters around the county’s perimeter to cobble together just enough Republican-prefering voters, while avoiding areas with Democratic voters, to reliably elect Republican candidates. 

The most-direct driving route from one end of District 45 to the other has the driver pass through each of Cumberland County’s other three House districts. 

The new map has Szoka in a new District 45 in the southwest corner of Cumberland County.  This territory has a more even mixture of Democratic and Republican voters than his current District 45. 

This new district’s presidential election results in 2016: 49.5% Republican, 46.9% Democratic, 3.6% other.  It favored the Democrat for state attorney general and the Republicans for U.S. Senate, governor and lieutenant governor. 

Billy Richardson

Richardson’s current district, labeled District 44, has much of eastern, central and southern Fayetteville and reaches into the Hope Mills area.  It has a mix of strong Democratic and strong Republican precincts. 

The new District 44 has one end around the All-American Freeway and it runs west through Fayetteville to the Hoke County line.  It is mostly Democratic precincts. 

This new district’s presidential election results in 2016: 70.0% Democratic, 26.5% Republican, 3.5% other. 

Marvin Lucas

Democratic state Rep. Marvin Lucas of Spring Lake sees the least change to his territory, which is District 42.  It remains based around Fort Bragg and Spring Lake in the northwest corner of Cumberland County. 

With its new boundaries, the new District 42 loses heavily Democratic western Fayetteville and gains a Democratic favoring area north of Fayetteville and east of Spring Lake. 

This new district’s presidential election results in 2016: 62.9% Democratic, 32.25% Republican, 4.1% other. 

Put to a vote

The House approved the new maps for these and other districts across the state on Friday in a mostly party-line vote.  Most Republicans voted “aye” and the Democrats voted “no.” 

Now the maps are pending in the Senate. 

Lucas, Richardson and Floyd voted against the new maps.  Szoka voted for the maps in a redistricting committee, and later was absent for the floor vote. 

Political events

• “Protect Our Votes” Emergency Town Hall Meeting: 6 p.m. Monday Sept. 16, Simon Temple AME Zion Church, 5760 Yadkin Road in Fayetteville.  Presented by the N.C. NAACP.  Will also be streamed on Facebook.  Discussion of recent decisions by the N.C. Board of Elections to adopt new electronic voting machines and practices amid concerns over their security. 

• Cumberland County Republican Men’s Club: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, Morgan’s Chop House, 201 S. McPherson Church Road in Fayetteville.  Guest speaker: Mitch Kokai of the John Locke Foundation.  Cost is $20, payable at the door by cash or check.  RSVP due to limited seating — text or call 910-308-3004 or email tag8@earthlink.net. 

• Cumberland County Democrats/Senior Democrats Outreach Cookout: 10:30 a.m.-2p.m.  Saturday, Sept. 21, Mazarick Park, 1400 Belvedere Ave.  in Fayetteville.  Meet and greet Democratic candidates, party officials and elected officials. 

• Trump Country 2020 Kickoff: 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, The Fair Barn event space, 200 Beulah Hill Road South, Pinehurst. 

• Cumberland County Democratic Men’s Club: 6 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 24, K&W Carolina, Bordeaux Center shopping center, 1758 Owen Drive in Fayetteville.  Guest speaker: State Rep. Billy Richardson of Fayetteville.  Those wishing to have a meal should order by 5:30 p.m.

• Cumberland County Progressives: 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, Sammio’s Italian Restaurant, 2623 Raeford Road in Fayetteville.  Topic: “The role and accountability of the community in raising a child.  What are our responsibilities?”  Also has a guest speaker: Fayetteville City Council District 2 candidate Janene Ackles. 

To have your political event or political news published in Inside Politics, email it to InsidePolitics@fayobserver.com.