NBC 17 Group: New Maps Give Republicans Advantage [NCFREE] Number Of 'Strong Republican' Districts Up 5 UPDATED: 3:34 PM EST January 12, 2004 RALEIGH, N.C. -- Just looking at the new legislative district maps, it's not real obvious why some Republicans are continuing to raise a fuss. The new House and Senate districts are a lot more compact than those drawn by Democratic legislative leaders in 2001 and 2002. More importantly from a partisan perspective, the House maps are also a lot more Republican. That's right. One of the maps that a group of Republicans is suing to try to block is actually more favorable to the GOP than the map under which they climbed to parity in the House in 2002. Who says so? NCFREE, a nonpartisan business-funded research group that studies state political trends. An NCFREE analysis examines each House and Senate district, categorizing them in one of five ways: "Strong Democratic," "Leaning Democratic," "Swing," "Leaning Republican," or "Strong Republican." According to the analysis, the number of "Strong Republican" districts rose from 31 to 36 under the new House map, as compared to the court-imposed map used for the 2002 House elections. "Leaning Republican" districts increased from 18 to 19; "Swing" districts dropped from 19 to 14; "Leaning Democratic" districts dropped from 18 to 17; "Strong Democratic" districts stayed the same at 34. Not surprisingly, in the Senate with its 27-23 Democratic majority, the maps became more Democratic. "Strong Democratic" districts increase from 13 to 17; "Leaning Democratic" districts drop from nine to seven; "Swing" districts dropped from six to four; "Leaning Republican" districts drop from eight to seven; and "Strong Republican" districts increased from 14 to 15. The Republicans who are suing to stop the latest maps -- including state GOP chairman Ferrell Blount and gubernatorial candidates Patrick Ballantine and Bill Cobey -- say they are doing so because they remain unconstitutional. They say the maps still don't meet requirements set out by the state Supreme Court in 2002, and that they illegally dilute minority voting strength to bolster white Democrats. The Republicans who brought the lawsuit can clearly take credit for the fact that the new maps do not look like the bug splatters on a windshield that the General Assembly unconstitutional maps of 2001 resembled. But the fact that they are carrying on the court fight against districts that actually bolster the GOP's election chances shows the battle has become personal. Political analysts and legislators say the ongoing court case, which threatens to postpone the North Carolina primary for the second straight election cycle, has become part of a power struggle within the state Republican Party. Instead of Republicans vs. Democrats, that battle pits the GOP plaintiffs and House Co-Speaker Richard Morgan, who helped author the new maps. "It doesn't sound like Morgan sold out the party, which is the charge," said Ted Arrington, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. "Given the (60-60) split within the House, I would have assumed the maps would have kept the status quo." In a recent letter, Morgan accused his political opponents within the GOP of pursing the lawsuit because the maps hurt their re-election chances. He also defended the House plan as constitutional. Morgan clearly used the redistricting process to go after his critics within the party. He did so by pairing a handful of Republican legislators in the same districts. They include Johnston County Reps. Billy Creech and Leo Daughtry, a lawsuit plaintiff, and Reps. Frank Mitchell of Iredell County and George Holmes of Yadkin County. Arrington said the intra-party feuding isn't helping the GOP, even if most voters aren't paying attention. The harm will come, he said, if the GOP is unable to recruit solid candidates and wastes money in messy primary fights. Republicans also need a unified message this fall. "For most voters, 'I hate Morgan,' is not a very appealing message," he said. Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.