North Carolina may have a 13-member delegation for the near future.

Although the state is growing rapidly, a recent report by Election Data Services said that it may not add another Congressional seat after the 2010 Census.

"Change for the State of North Carolina is more tentative; it would pick up a seat in two of the mid-term projection models, but would fail to increase in both the long-term and short-term population models," the service wrote.

After the 2000 Census, North Carolina added its 13th seat, which U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, was then elected to fill in 2002.

Along with Florida, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Washington, it is considered to be in the running for an additional seat, while states such as California, Illinois and New York may lose a seat.

Aside from the additional representation, an extra Congressional seat would also boost North Carolina's role in the presidential election process by giving the state an additional elector.

Hat Tip: Tom Jensen

North Carolina could gain a Congressional seat in 2010.

Two different forecasters predict that Congress will give the state a 14th U.S. representative after the next Census, based on current population growth, the Myrtle Beach Sun News reports.

Clark Benson of Polidata Political Data Analysis said the state could get a new seat, although it could be bumped off the the list by Pennsylvania, Washington or California.

And Kimball W. Brace of Election Data Services said two of his three models showed a new seat for North Carolina.

If a new district were drawn, it could be around either Wake or Mecklenburg counties, both of which have seen rapid growth in recent years.

The U.S. Census Bureau will present the data to Congress around the start of 2011.

Hat Tip: Carolina Politics Online