Report: Tom Hofeller, Republican redistricting wizard, dies at 75

Tom Hofeller, who helped Republicans redraw state and federal election districts and gain majorities in Congress and state legislatures, has died, The Hill reports. He was 75.

A native of San Diego, Hofeller has long lived in Raleigh. He helped the Republican Party draw districts and defend them in court, and helped the party sue the Democratic Party for its redistricting efforts, according to The Hill. A federal court overturned the North Carolina districts Hofeller drew in 2011, saying the map had been drawn with too much emphasis on racial demographics.

Ben Ginsberg, an attorney with the Republican National Committee, told The Hill: "Tom was the father of Republican map-drawing, and also its grandfather, great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather. He understood both the art and science of redistributing like no one else."