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Gerrymandering Fallout: GOP House Seats at Risk in N. Carolina

"They have a 10-3 map in a state that is 50-50," one expert said. “If there’s any state where the maps need to be fixed, it’s North Carolina"

After North Carolina's congressional district maps were thrown out by a court last week, Republicans are facing the prospect of having to draw new, fairer boundaries that could give Democrats a boost and put a handful of GOP-held seats in danger, according to experts.

Those existing maps cannot be used for the coming elections, including the March presidential primary, the three-judge panel said last Monday. Experts said that those maps are so favorable to Republicans, it would be hard for Democrats not to be helped by a court-mandated change, NBC News reports.

"Any remotely neutral map would likely result in Democrats' picking up at least two seats in the House," said David Wasserman, House editor for The Cook Political Report and an NBC News contributor and senior analyst with the NBC Election Unit.

A Republican House candidate and two voters have filed a lawsuit in federal court to try to stop the state court injunction, but barring a complete reversal, the boundaries are likely to be redrawn this year.

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