Democrats are poised to pick up a House seat next year following a federal court’s selection of a new congressional map for Alabama Thursday.
A three-judge panel picked a map that expands the boundaries of the 2nd Congressional District, currently represented by Republican Barry Moore.
The district currently covers the southeastern corner of the state, but would stretch east-west between the borders of Georgia and Mississippi under the new map.
The new district would include the capital city of Montgomery, western counties in the so-called “Black Belt” and part of the city of Mobile.
According to Cook Political Report analyst Dave Wasserman, the revised map transforms Alabama’s 2nd District from one that voted for Donald Trump by 29 percentage points in 2020 to one that backed President Biden by 12 percentage points.
The new map also means that nearly 50% of the voting-age population in the new district will be black, compared to fewer than one-third in the old 2nd district.
The Supreme Court in June upheld a three-judge panel’s finding that Alabama’s prior map — with one majority-black district out of seven in a state that is 27% black — likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act.
The three judges in that case said the state should have two districts where black voters have an opportunity to elect their preferred candidates.
Alabama lawmakers responded in July and passed a new map that maintained a single majority-black district.
The three-judge panel ruled the state failed to fix the Voting Rights Act violation, threw out the map and directed a court-appointed special master to draw new lines.
Alabama’s House delegation currently consists of six Republicans and one Democrat.
“The court ordered victory today – creating a new black opportunity district for Congress in Alabama — is for my late sister in law Vivian and those other black Alabamians — here and gone — too long denied equal representation,” former Attorney General Eric Holder said on X, formerly Twitter. “Their commitment and sacrifice made this day possible.”
“It’s a historic day for Alabama. It will be the first time in which black voters will have an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice in two congressional districts,” Deuel Ross, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund who represented plaintiffs in the case, said Thursday morning.
Republicans currently maintain a thin 221-212 majority in the House and have been plunged into bitter strife since the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) Tuesday by a band of rebels led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
Alabama is the first state to have its House map altered by legal action brought by Democratic-leaning groups, but is unlikely to be the last.
Over the summer, the high court lifted a hold on a lower court ruling instructing Louisiana to add a majority-black district to its congressional map.
Depending on how litigation in Pelican State plays out, that could imperil the House career of Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), a McCarthy ally and key spending negotiator.
The Cook Political Report previously deemed Graves’ district, which includes much of Baton Rouge and its suburbs, as a “toss-up” heading into 2024.
Last month, a Florida judge ordered the state back to the drawing board, arguing a map championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was unfair to black voters.
The governor’s team is challenging that ruling.
Later this year, the Supreme Court will hear a challenge to South Carolina’s apportionment, arguing it discriminates against black voters.
In New York, Democrats are also jockeying to redraw the state’s map.
A court intervention last year resulted in a fresh map for the Empire State, paving the way for a three-seat flip for Republicans. Litigation in that matter is ongoing.