House

19 Congressional Black Caucus members could be affected by redistricting: Chair

Comments:

by Max Rego - 05/13/26 12:01 PM ET

Comments:

Link copied

by Max Rego - 05/13/26 12:01 PM ET

Comments:

Link copied

NOW PLAYING

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), said Tuesday that 19 of the group’s members are at risk from GOP-led redistricting efforts.

“It’s devastating. People have sacrificed so much to make this a more perfect union. And here we are, in 2026, seeing this massive regression in all the gains that have been made. It’s painful,” Clarke told NBC News.

After the Supreme Court last month ruled that Louisiana’s congressional map was unconstitutional, Republican lawmakers in that state and others in the region have moved to redraw districts.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court limited how much state legislatures and redistricting commissions are confined by Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act when drawing congressional maps. That provision of the law barred voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race.

On Monday, the Supreme Court removed a lower court’s block on a map drawn by Alabama Republicans. If used for the midterms, the map would give the GOP a better chance at flipping the seat held by Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.), who won election to his first term in the House by more than 9 points over Republican Caroleene Dobson in 2024.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) on Tuesday set a special primary election for Aug. 11 in the state’s 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th congressional districts. Figures and Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), who represent the 2nd and 7th districts, respectively, are the lone members of the CBC from Alabama.

Figures, whose district was nearly 49 percent Black as of the 2020 U.S. Census, said Tuesday that the Supreme Court’s ruling represents a “loss of a legitimate opportunity for Black voters to elect a candidate” of their choice.

“That’s all this case was ever about. It was not about a stacked deck or a guarantee or a promise of Black representation. It was about a legitimate opportunity,” Figures told host Kasie Hunt on CNN’s “The Arena.”

The Alabama Democrat also said that he will decide “at the appropriate time” whether to run for reelection if state lawmakers pass the map.

Even before the Supreme Court struck down the Louisiana map, Republicans in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina redrew the maps of their states. As a result, Reps. Don Davis (D-N.C.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Al Green (D-Texas) and Marc Veasey (D-Texas) could lose their races.

Entering the 119th Congress, the CBC had a record 62 members. But over the last 16 months, two members of the caucus — Reps. David Scott (D-Ga.) and Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) — have died, while Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) resigned last month amid a House Ethics Committee investigation into her alleged misuse of disaster relief funds.

Add as preferred source on Google