New boundaries, new congressional candidates for District 12

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The 12th district used to include many cities stretching from Charlotte to Greensboro along a stretch on Interstate 85, but now that congressional maps in North Carolina were ruled unconstitutional, the race for U.S. House is looking a whole lot different.

After the 12th district that runs along I-85 and the 1st district, an octopus shaped district near Durham County, were ruled unconstitutional, lawmakers created new congressional boundaries.

But with new boundaries come new candidates.

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"In some districts it is going to be a free for all," political expert Eric Heberlig, said.

The 12th district is now heavily shifted and incumbent Rep. Alma Adams from Greensboro will now face off against six Democratic primary challengers many with roots in Mecklenburg County.

The six challengers are Carla D. Cunningham, Gardenia Henley, Malcolm Graham, Rick Miller, Rodney Moore and Tricia Cotham.

The 9th district also has changed, and now it stretches all the way to Lumberton. That means the incumbent representative Robert Pittenger will also have to introduce himself to thousands of new voters, while facing two primary challengers as well.

Pittenger's two challengers are Mark Harris and Todd Johnson.

"It really creates an opportunity for other candidates to say, 'Hey I'm from this area, the people don't know the new representative, I can run and get the votes of those local people,'" Heberlig said.

In total there are 76 candidates running for Congress across the state. With new districts and no runoff, the race could come down to two things- money and turnout.

"It's a matter of identifying who those voters are that are likely to turn out, trying to differentiate yourself from all the other candidates running and praying for the best," Heberlig said.

The congressional primary is on June 7.

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