Black House Seats Drop to 60 After Midterm Blue Wave

Rep. Shomari Figures of Alabama won reelection in the 2nd Congressional District despite a map redrawn by state Republicans. The victory was part of a wider Democratic performance that halted a steeper decline in Black representation in the U.S. House.

An analysis by NPR indicates the incoming Congress will include 60 Black members, including nonvoting representatives. That number is down from 63 in the current House. The count is one seat away from the record low of four Black representatives that occurred after the 1876 election near the end of the Reconstruction era.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais weakened protections under the Voting Rights Act regarding racial discrimination in mapmaking. This ruling allowed Alabama’s Republican-controlled legislature to redraw Figures’ district into a GOP-leaning area. A lower federal court had previously found the new lines tainted by intentional race-based discrimination, stating they gave Black-preferred candidates zero chance of winning.

High voter turnout among Black residents, particularly in the South, drove the Democratic gains. Cliff Albright, co-founder and executive director of Black Voters Matter, described the turnout as remarkable. He noted that while some observers call it a blue wave, the Black electorate in the South views it as a Black wave motivated by attacks on voting rights.

Democrats also flipped districts in North Carolina that had long been represented by white Republicans. Cyril Jefferson and LaKesha Womack won seats in those areas. Rep. Don Davis, another Black representative from North Carolina, defended his seat after the state legislature redrew his district. In Colorado and Michigan, Reps.-elect Melat Kiros and Donavan McKinney added to the Democratic tally.

Statewide control shifted in key Republican strongholds like Texas and Georgia. In Georgia, the loss of the GOP trifecta reduced the redistricting threat to districts held by Black Democrats. Outgoing Governor Brian Kemp announced he will not call a special session on redistricting before January, when Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms takes office. Bottoms will be the first Black woman elected governor in the United States.

Kareem Crayton, a redistricting expert and vice president of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Washington office, cautioned against assuming a permanent shift. He compared the current optimism to the period following the 2008 election, noting that many gains favored to Democrats were wiped out two years later. He argued that rules should be crafted to protect rights under the worst conditions rather than the most rosy scenarios.

Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, said the greatest reaction to the Callais ruling is expected in 2028 and 2030. Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, warned that state legislatures, city councils, and school boards face similar threats as maps are redrawn in the coming years.

Black representation in the U.S. Senate is increasing. The new Congress will include seven Black senators, a historic high. This group includes Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Scott Colom, who will become the first Black senator from Mississippi since Reconstruction.