Whether Steen and others decide to seek the 12th District seat, now held by Democrat Mel Watt, hinges a lot on what a three-judge federal panel decides on the long-controversial district boundaries. That decision could come this week.

“We are researching the voter profiles and the results of the last election for this district,” Steen said. “That was under the 1998 plan. If the district stays the same, we will have an uphill battle, but it can be won. Our biggest hurdle is the delay in the court’s decision.”

In 1998, after congressional candidates already had filed and were running their primary campaigns, the three-judge panel threw out the N.C. General Assembly’s 1997 revision of the 12th District that ran from Greensboro to Charlotte and had a black population of just less than 47 percent.

That decision led to hurried action by the General Assembly to approve a more compact 12th District, even though candidates had to refile and congressional primaries were pushed back four months.

Meanwhile, the state appealed the federal panel’s decision.

In May of this year, the Supreme Court said the three-judge federal panel erred in rejecting the 1997 plan without having a trial. That trial was held in late November in Raleigh, and the panel could give its decision as early as this week. The central argument in the recent Raleigh trial was whether the 1997 plan was predominantly based on race.

The state says it wasn’t. Opponents, led by Duke University law professor Robinson Everett, say it was.

But there’s more to the confusion.

The Supreme Court’s ruling means that, for now, the 1997 district boundaries are in effect for the 2000 race, even though they have never been used for an election.

Salisbury dentist J. Scott Keadle, the 1998 GOP nominee for the 12th District seat, and Winston-Salem businessman John Cosgrove also have indicated an interest in seeking the Republican nomination for the 12th District.

In addition, Keadle has considered a candidacy for the 23rd N.C. Senate seat now held by Democrat Jim Phillips. Phillips has said he will not seek re-election in the 23rd District, which includes portions of Rowan, Davidson and Iredell counties.

Again, much hinges on what the federal panel of judges decide.

The official filing date for congressional offices opens at noon Monday, but state elections officials remain in limbo while they wait on the judges’ decision.

The current 12th District boundaries include all of Rowan County and portions of Mecklenburg, Forsyth, Iredell and Davidson counties. Any changes to the 12th District, as directed by the judges, would affect other congressional districts.

The judges could reject the 1997 plan, meaning the 1998 district boundaries probably would be used for the 2000 election.

The National Republican Congressional Committee invited Steen to attend its academy near the Reagan National Airport. Steen attended the course with 25 other GOP hopefuls from across the country. He said he received training from Republican congressional members, pollsters and National Republican Congressional Committee staff members.

“If I decide to run,” Steen said, “I now have the tools to develop and implement a winning political strategy.”

Steen has some campaign apparatus in place, including a press secretary, Margaret Cox of Charlotte. Keadle and Cosgrove also have organizations in place.

In Washington, Steen attended a reception to meet political action committee representatives and members of Congress.