Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that 19 of the group's members are endangered by Republican-led redistricting campaigns, calling the situation a devastating rollback of hard-won political gains.
"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.
Her warning follows a Supreme Court decision last month that struck down Louisiana's congressional map as unconstitutional, limiting how state legislatures must comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That provision bars voting procedures that discriminate based on race. Republicans in Louisiana and other states have swiftly moved to redraw districts.
On Monday, the high court removed a lower court's block on a map drawn by Alabama Republicans. If used for the midterms, that map would boost GOP chances of unseating Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.), who won his first term in 2024 by more than 9 points over Republican Caroleene Dobson. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) set a special primary election for August 11 in the state's 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 7th congressional districts. Figures and Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), the only CBC members from Alabama, represent the 2nd and 7th districts, respectively.
Figures, whose district was nearly 49 percent Black as of the 2020 Census, said the ruling eliminates "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 CNN's Kasie Hunt on "The Arena." He added that he will decide "at the appropriate time" whether to run for reelection if state lawmakers adopt the map.
Even before the Louisiana ruling, Republicans in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina had redrawn maps, threatening incumbents like Reps. Don Davis (D-N.C.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Al Green (D-Texas), and Marc Veasey (D-Texas). The Missouri Supreme Court recently cleared a GOP redistricting map, boosting midterm prospects for Republicans there.
The CBC entered the 119th Congress with a record 62 members. However, over the past 16 months, two members—Reps. David Scott (D-Ga.) and Sylvester Turner (D-Texas)—have died, and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) resigned last month amid a House Ethics Committee investigation into alleged misuse of disaster relief funds.
The redistricting push has also drawn attention in Virginia, where Democrats have taken their fight to the Supreme Court after a state court blocked a map. Meanwhile, in Louisiana, the turmoil has fueled a primary challenge to Senator Bill Cassidy by Representative Julia Letlow.
