CHARLOTTE, N.C. — While Texas and California lead the way in a mid-decade redistricting showdown that could reshape congressional control , North Carolina stands as both a cautionary tale and potential battleground in what experts call a new era of "mutually assured destruction" in American redistricting.

The Tar Heel State's history has been home to some of the nation's most significant redistricting cases, from landmark Supreme Court decisions to recent partisan map-drawing controversies that continue to wind through the courts.

"We are absolutely in the new norm and we are in an environment that is both nationalized and polarized," said Dr. Michael Bitzer, a politics professor at Catawba College who authored a book on North Carolina gerrymandering . "This is the new American politics

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