About The 5th District Democrats

North Carolina's 5th congressional district covers the northwestern corner of North Carolina from the 

Appalachian Mountains at the Virginia border down to the SC border. Redistricting has changed its makeup over the years. 

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WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT CHANGE MUST HAPPEN - QUICKLY - FOR OUR OFFICERS, CANDIDATES, and VOTERS

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On Monday, December 2nd, 2019, the three-judge panel overseeing our Congressional District challenge decided that the North Carolina General Assembly had not provided the court enough time to fully consider the evidence surrounding the latest challenge to the recently enacted Congressional District boundaries. (Once again, the Republican majority ran out the clock, a frequent tactic of the GOP in redistricting battles.)

 

In April of 2023, The North Carolina Supreme Court, with a new Republican majority, reversed the previous  decision on the state’s legislative and congressional maps, opening the door for the GOP-controlled General Assembly to draw new districts skewed in Republicans' favor. It's worth noting that Phil Berger, Jr. is a justice on the NC Supreme Court, and he is the son of Republican Senate Pro Tempore leader Phil Berger. 

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For the time being, the Congressional District maps (as revised most recently by the General Assembly) will remain in place. But the General Assembly will redraw them – a fact that not only impacts candidates and voters, but also impacts our NCDP organizational structure, DNC delegate elections, and presidential elector elections.

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Please note that this transition plan is the unanimous recommendation of your NCDP State Officers. Any changes that are created will be communicated as quickly as possible. Your county parties will be instructed. 

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PAST HISTORY OF THE 5th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

The 5th district has only become "red" in the past 20 years during the Art Pope push of the 90s. Previously, Stephen Lybrook Neal, a Winston-Salem Democrat led the 5th district for 20 years.  A member of "The Class of '74," as the Congressmen of his class was called, they were reform-minded lawmakers that swept into the House of Representatives in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal. Today they are still regarded with reverence by many on Capitol Hill for pushing the rules and modernizing the House. 

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William W. Kitchin             Democratic        March 4, 1897 – January 11, 1909  (Resigned after being elected Governor)

John M. Morehead               Republican       March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1911

Charles M. Stedman           Democratic       March 4, 1911 – September 23, 1930       (Died in office)

Franklin W. Hancock, Jr.   Democratic       November 4, 1930 – January 3, 1939

 Alonzo D. Folger                Democratic        January 3, 1939 – April 30, 1941              (Died in office)

 John H. Folger                    Democratic        June 14, 1941 – January 3, 1949

 Richard T. Chatham          Democratic        January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1957

 Ralph J. Scott                      Democratic        January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1967

 Nick Galifianakis               Democratic        January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1969           (Redistricted to the 4th district)

 Vinegar Bend Mizell           Republican       January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1975

 Stephen L. Neal                  Democratic         January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1995

 Richard Burr                       Republican         January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2005

 Virginia Foxx                      Republican          January 3, 2005 – Present