North Carolina congressman says he won’t seek reelection after redistricting

Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.) announced on Friday that he will not seek reelection in 2020 after a court-ordered redistricting in North Carolina threw his political future into uncertainty.

“It has also been gratifying to work for the ideals and values that I, like many other Americans, believe in. And so it is with regret that I announce I will not be a candidate for Congress this election,” Holding, who sits on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement.  

“I should add, candidly, that, yes, the newly redrawn Congressional Districts were part of the reason I have decided not to seek reelection,” he added. “But, in addition, this is also a good time for me to step back and reflect on all that I have learned,” he added.

Holding, 51, joins 23 other House Republicans who are not seeking reelection next year.

Holding, a former U.S. attorney, was first elected to the House in 2012 and represents North Carolina’s heavily conservative 2nd District, which surrounds Raleigh. His decision to not seek reelection in 2020 came weeks after the state legislature redrew North Carolina’s congressional map under a court order dubbing the state’s previous map unconstitutional.

The new map seeks to strike a closer balance between GOP-leaning and Democratic-leaning districts in the state. Under the old congressional lines, only three of North Carolina’s 13 districts leaned in favor of Democratic candidates. The new map increases that number to five.

Holding’s district was among the two that turned blue after the new lines were drawn. The other – North Carolina’s 6th District – is currently represented by Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), who is himself considering 2020 challenges to two fellow Republicans, including Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Rep. Ted Budd (N.C.).

Unlike Walker, however, Holding ruled out challenging one of his Republican colleagues in a neighboring district, telling the Raleigh News & Observer this week that the districts around his were “able represented.”

“I wouldn’t run against a colleague in one of my neighboring districts,” he told the newspaper. He also acknowledged the difficult path he faced to reelection in his current district, calling it a “safe Democrat seat.”

Still, Holding has not ruled out a Senate run in 2022. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the state’s senior senator, has said that he will not run for reelection when his term expires in three years.

— Updated at 11:50 a.m.