CONCORD, N.C. — Representative Larry Kissell slid into a diner booth here and sought to explain — with no small amount of irritation, since he has apparently been asked many times — his decision to run in his newly configured House district, in contrast to two fellow North Carolina Democrats who retired rather than risk defeat in districts reshaped by Republicans.

“Those are decisions they had to make on a personal level,” said Mr. Kissell, whose district outside Charlotte has gone from being mildly Republican in his first election in 2008 to 12 percentage points in favor of the opposition party now. “I really view this as being a job of serving the public. It’s not a campaign for me; it’s just doing our job. And if we do a good job, the results will go our way.”

Republicans have a different view. They see North Carolina as the state that stands between Democrats and their dreams of retaking the House.

Congressional redistricting, a decennial process that generally allows the party in legislative power in each state to draw new lines, has not created many opportunities for new seats for Republicans, as the party’s leaders once expected. But it has forced multiple House Democrats, viewing their odds in new districts as slim, into retirement. Many of those districts are now either in play or solidly Republican, making the climb for Democrats all that more onerous.