Democratic-linked plaintiffs who challenged the initial map filed a brief last Friday contesting the redraw, a move that could delay primaries for Congress and continue to muddle the state's political future with a year to go until the 2020 elections.

Republicans, meanwhile, are already confronting significant upheaval in their delegation — even if Democrats don't succeed in convincing the court to go further to unravel the GOP's advantage. Holding is hinting about retirement. And Walker, who was also drawn into a safe, Democratic district, is raising the prospect of primarying a fellow member.

"We basically have a Wild West of redistricting," GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry, who holds a district in the western half of the state, said this week. "This will be the fourth map in six cycles, and I think that is so confusing for voters."

Last month, a three-judge panel appeared poised to strike down the old map, prompting the GOP-controlled state Legislature to act first in the hopes of minimizing losses to the party's congressional delegation.

Under the GOP’s redraw, Holding’s district now includes more of Wake County, taking in the city of Raleigh. Walker’s new seat unites Greensboro and Winston-Salem — and an insurmountable number of Democratic voters.

Holding has repeatedly suggested that he would retire if there was no suitable district in which he could run.

“I never came here to make a career out of being in Congress. There are plenty of other things to do,” he said this week, repeatedly adding: “No one is entitled to a congressional seat.”

But Walker, a Baptist pastor first elected in 2014 who briefly considered running for Senate earlier this year, said he was not resigned to an early departure and floated the possibility he could run in one of two neighboring districts with new lines that include parts of his original 6th District.

"Not to overspiritualize it, but we’re kind of praying through the process, my family and I," he said Friday. "They have taken the bulk of my district and put the constituents in two other districts, so we’re kind of looking at all these options."

The primary is set for March 3, known as "Super Tuesday," though the court could order special primaries at a later date if it rejects the new map. Walker declined to rule out challenging McHenry or Republican Rep. Ted Budd, whose redrawn districts absorbed some of his old seat.

"You know, I don’t even like to think about that," Walker said. "But, I mean, you want to do what’s right, ethically. But if you have the bulk of the people that you represent, have just been — a line’s been moved over — I mean, is that something you take a look at?"

The reconfigured map would likely elect eight Republicans and five Democrats, but a few seats have the potential to be competitive, according to a POLITICO analysis. President Donald Trump received less than 55 percent of the vote in seats corresponding to those held by Republican Reps. Richard Hudson and Dan Bishop. Hillary Clinton got 54 percent of the vote in the district held now by Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield.

Hudson’s new district takes in Fayetteville, making it more favorable to Democrats. “It is what it is. I can’t control it,” he said Thursday.

Bishop, who was just elected in a September special election, avoided grabbing a larger slice of Mecklenburg County, which includes the city of Charlotte. But he could still have a somewhat challenging reelection. Trump would have carried the seat by 10 points, down slightly from 12 points under the lines in this year's special election.