Republican-Led Redistricting Reduces Black Representation in Six States

Mid-decade redistricting driven by Republican leaders has reshaped congressional maps in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina. The changes consistently split historically Black neighborhoods and merge them with majority-White areas, lowering the share of Black residents in the affected districts. In Texas, the former 9th District—once a Black-majority seat in Houston—was largely absorbed into the new 18th District, prompting a primary contest between two Black Democratic incumbents. Similar “cracking” occurred in Florida’s 20th District, where the Black population fell from roughly 53% to 45%, and in Tennessee, where the 9th District’s Black share dropped from 62% to just under 33%.

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The redistricting surge follows a Supreme Court decision in late April that struck down Louisiana’s congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The Court’s conservative majority said the ruling weakened the Voting Rights Act’s protections against racial discrimination in district drawing. That precedent has been cited by state officials as justification for revising maps in the other five states.

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• Florida: Gov. Ron DeSatis called the claw-shaped 20th District an unconstitutional racial gerrymander that needed to be reworked; the revised district now includes Black-majority neighborhoods such as Belle Glade, Riviera Beach and West Palm Beach in districts with Black shares of 15% and 26%.

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• Louisiana: One of two Black-majority districts was eliminated; the former 6th District’s Black voters in Shreveport were merged into a largely Republican northwest district with less than one-third Black residents.

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• Alabama: After a lower-court finding of intentional discrimination, the map was reinstated by the Supreme Court, removing a district that linked Mobile and Montgomery; the new districts are 27% and 42% Black, respectively.

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• Tennessee: The sole majority-Black 9th District was cracked, distributing Memphis’s Black voters across three districts each under 30% Black.

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• North Carolina: The 1st District’s Black share fell from about 42% to 34% after merging with solidly Republican coastal counties; Wilson and Goldsboro were moved to the 3rd District, now 31% Black.

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Black voters remain a decisive Democratic bloc in these states—nearly 78% supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. By diluting Black concentrations, Republicans aim to improve their prospects in the upcoming midterm elections, a goal they have publicly acknowledged.

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Republican officials argue the new maps are “simply about boosting their party” ahead of the midterms, while civil-rights groups contend the changes violate the spirit of the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court’s recent decision, which limited the Act’s reach, underpins the legal rationale for the redistricting actions.

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