RALEIGH, N.C. — One of the most outspoken North Carolina members of Congress could soon represent some local counties.
Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn announced on Twitter Thursday that he will not be running for reelection in North Carolina’s 14th congressional district due to redistricting and will instead run to represent the state’s 13th congressional district in 2022.
On Nov. 4, the North Carolina congressional map approved by the General Assembly put Cawthorn’s home county of Henderson in the new 14th district, but Cawthorn will run in the 13th district, which includes the counties of Polk, Rutherford, McDowell, Burke, Cleveland, Gaston and part of Mecklenburg
Cawthorn said in the video that the move gives him the greatest chance to make an impact on the affairs of his state and his nation.
Cawthorn currently represents the 11th district in western North Carolina, but his home is now in the 14th due to redistricting.
In the Twitter video, Cawthorn explained that his constituency has been cut in two thanks to redistricting, and he fears that an establishment “go along to get along Republican” will be elected in the 13th district.
“I will not let that happen,” Cawthorn said.
[ READ MORE: North Carolina legislators finalize redistricting maps ]
Unlike state lawmakers, congressional candidates do not have to live in the district they are running in.
“Our state is growing and changing rapidly,” Cawthorn said in the video. “We now have a brand-new congressional district, and as it stands, the new lines have split my constituents. My house is almost directly on the line of separation for the 13th and the 14th Congressional districts, and now half of the counties in the new district are counties I currently represent. My people are split, and I am forced to make a very difficult decision.”
(WATCH BELOW: Expert says power of redistricting helped Republicans)
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