Black leaders warned the Supreme Court’s recent ruling to weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act would result in fewer protections for Black voters and consequently less Black representation in Congress. Now, leaders like former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder are sounding the alarm over majority-minority districts across the South that are in complete danger.
“It is going to be a rough few years. But I am actually confident that a galvanized American people, focused American people, can right the system,” Holder told NPR of the gerrymandering schemes. “Then ultimately it is going to be Congress that is going to have to pass laws to ban partisan and racial gerrymandering.”
Now, we’re taking a closer look at each Black-led district at risk and exactly how we got to this point.
Rep. Cleo Fields, LA-06
Rep. Cleo Fields is one of two Black representatives leading majority-minority districts in Louisiana. Following the Supreme Court decision affecting his district, Fields expressed his disappointment. “If there is a state that can show the history of racial discrimination, that state is Louisiana,” he said on the steps of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.
Still, the Democrat doesn’t seem to be as shaken as most might expect him to be. He said the ruling is “not the end of the world, but it’s not a good day, obviously.”
Rep. Troy Carter, LA-02
According to the Louisiana Illuminator, state lawmakers will begin work on a new congressional map this Friday. Along with Fields’ district, that of Rep. Troy Carter is also expected to be slashed. The Democrat is no stranger to clashing with state Republicans, including La. Gov. Jeff Landry, who declared a state of emergency to suspend ongoing primary elections in order to redraw the maps.
Rep. Alma Adams, NC-12
We previously told you N.C. Republicans passed their own gerrymandered map, which would target Rep. Don Davis, a Black Democrat, according to WCNC News. Davis is now running in a different district, but another Black Democrat, Rep. Alma Adams, who represents the Charlotte area, is also at risk of losing her seat in light of the new map.
“Gerrymandering our state is being done at the request of President Trump, not because it serves North Carolina citizens best. North Carolina was already one of the most gerrymandered states in the country,” Adams said in a statement to The Hill.
Rep. James Clyburn, SC-06
Rep. James Clyburn has led the 6th district in Columbia, S.C. since the 1990s. He’s the state’s only Democrat in Congress, and while it’s unlikely that Republicans will try to upset his seat before the 2026 midterms, state lawmakers are leaving the door open for a new district map before 2028, which would effectively axe him out.
Rep. Ralph Norman, a Republican representing the 5th district, called the SCOTUS decision a “turning point” which would allow South Carolina to “take a hard look at districts that were designed to be untouchable,” especially Clyburn’s district, WCIV reported.
Rep. Nikema Williams, GA-05
Rep. Nikema Williams now represents the seat that belonged to the late congressman and civil rights icon, John Lewis. Now, the district that covers parts of metro Atlanta is at risk of shifting after the SCOTUS ruling.
Even though Gov. Brian Kemp said the court’s decision will not have any impact on Georgia’s current map, he warned that a vote on the matter will happen before the next presidential election. “It’s clear that Callais requires Georgia to adopt new electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle,” Kemp said, according to CBS News.
Rep. Lucy McBath, GA-06
Rep. Lucy McBath’s seat, representing parts of metro Atlanta, is also at risk, but shockingly, this isn’t the first time McBath has been targeted. Back in 2023, she was forced to run in another district after a Republican gerrymander shredded her district.
According to POLITICO, state Republicans were forced to redraw the voting maps after a federal judge found the previous map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Ironically, lawmakers did increase the number of majority-Black districts but only at the expense of McBath’s suburban district. Now, she’ll more than likely have to undergo another redistricting scheme ahead of the 2028 election.
Rep. David Scott, GA-13
When Rep. David Scott died at age 80 last month, he effectively left his congressional district open for targeting. Now, six Democrats are running to serve the remainder of his term, USA Today reported. No matter who wins the special election set for July, the district will likely be impacted by future redistricting efforts.
Rep. Hank Johnson, GA-04
Rep. Hank Johnson is one of several Georgia Democrats who have issued eerie warnings as redistricting efforts continue across the country. His district– nestled between that of Rep. Nikema Williams and the open seat left by the late Rep. David Scott– is also at risk as Gov. Kemp promises to keep up with President Trump’s redistricting plan.
Still, he warned that any Republicans “doing the bidding” of Trump could be in for a rude awakening. “I think that Trump started a slippery slope that we’re sliding down,” Johnson said, according to FOX News. “Democrats have to match the overreach of complicit Republicans doing the bidding of Donald Trump.”
Rep. Sanford Bishop, GA-02
Rep. Sanford Bishop represents the blue district covering much of Columbus and Macon. Republicans have long tried to flip the district, which was evident in the 2022 runoff election when the Republicans, including a Black man, challenged Bishop, GPB reported. In the end, the Democrat secured another term, but now, he’s facing pressure following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
In a statement issued after the decision, Bishop slammed the high court. “Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision is the latest in a line of decisions which has decimated the Voting Rights Act and left it a shell of the landmark legislative achievement of the Civil Rights Movement,” he said. “This decision ignores our country’s history of racism and reopens the door to Jim Crow era, undemocratic tactics that suppressed and denied power to minority voters and communities.”
He added, “Nonetheless, we shall not be moved, and I will not be deterred. “
Rep. Shomari Figures, AL-02
We also told you Alabama Republicans introduced a new gerrymandering effort in direct response to the SCOTUS decision. On Wednesday (May 6), the Alabama House approved a last-minute congressional gerrymander, despite absentee votes having already been cast in the ongoing primary races.
In Mobile, Ala. Rep. Shomari Figures’ seat is at risk of being redrawn. Figures represents one of two Black districts in the state, which came as a result of Allen v. Milligan— the case that led to a court-drawn congressional map for Alabama.
Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07
That case also introduced the 7th district, which is currently represented by Rep. Terri Sewell in Birmingham. A panel of three federal judges ordered the state to keep its current congressional map until 2030. But almost a year after the decision, state officials have cleared a path for a new redistricting scheme.
Rep. Maxwell Frost, FL-10
Florida became the latest state to adopt a new district map after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure that would give Republicans a 24-4 advantage over Democrats. The new map was passed in a special session on April 29, NBC News reported, but has already been met with legal challenges from critics.
The new lines notably target District 10, which is home base for the country’s first and only Gen-Z representative, Democrat Maxwell Frost.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, FL-20
The new map is also set to upset the district previously held by former Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. We previously told you the Democrat is facing criminal charges after she allegedly pocketed $5 million for her re-election campaign. She’s since resigned following a House ethics hearing, WFSU reported. Still, Cherfilus-McCormick says she plans to clear her name and then run again for her seat.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, MS-02
Rep. Bennie Thompson didn’t mince words following the ruling, which will target his seat in Mississippi. “This is equivalent to a second Civil War,” Thompson told civil rights icon Al Sharpton this week.
His seat has officially been targeted by folks like Republican State Auditor Shad White, who called for Mississippi lawmakers to oust the longtime Democrat. “There is no reason under this new ruling for that district to exist with the lines that it currently has,” White said in a social media video. “This is a huge, huge change in electoral politics, and it could mean the end of the district that was drawn specifically to protect Bennie Thompson.”
Political analysts warn this mid-decade redistricting could create a permanent shift in power, structurally blocking a Democratic majority before a single vote is cast. As veteran leaders like James Clyburn and Bennie Thompson face maps designed to “axe” them out, the South remains the epicenter of a battle for representation. Without federal intervention, these shifting lines threaten to decimate the Congressional Black Caucus and leave the Voting Rights Act a hollow shell.
