On the Ballot: Black lawmakers on track to lose record gains in representation next year

Congress is slated to lose more than a dozen Black members between both parties in 2027 after representation reached an all-time high on Capitol Hill just last cycle.

The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in April to weaken the Voting Rights Act has played a leading role in this seismic deficit. The ruling, which made it easier for states to redraw House districts without considering race, paved the way for several Black Democrats to lose their seats in the South.  

Meanwhile, a different dynamic has played out on the other side of the aisle. Most Black Republicans in the House opted to leave the chamber for higher office, while Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) declined to seek reelection to avoid a primary against a fellow Republican.

This unusual confluence of factors — mid-decade redistricting, retirements and bids for higher office — is set to seriously erode the House’s delegation of more than 60 Black lawmakers after years of gains.

“I believe in diversity to the extent that all persons should be represented when critical decisions, important decisions, decisions that will impact the lives of our country are made, so it’s going to be felt,” said outgoing Rep. Al Green (D), whose Texas House district was dismantled by Republican redistricting last year.

“It’ll be noticed,” he added.

Black Democratic lawmakers, including Green as well as Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.), Jasmine Crockett (Texas), Marc Veasey (Texas), Christian Menefee (Texas), Shomari Figures (Ala.) and Cleo Fields (La.) were all impacted by the national redistricting war first ignited in Texas by President Trump last year.

While Menefee is set to return to Congress, new lines implemented by the Texas Republicans forced the first-term lawmaker and Green into an awkward member-on-member match up. Menefee handedly beat Green in a runoff last month.

Cleaver, Figures and Fields still are in danger of losing reelection this November while Crockett left her House seat for an unsuccessful Texas Senate bid and Veasey retired.

“There’s no doubt about the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais will go down as one of the most disastrous rulings for Black political representation in modern history,” said former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who is Black and poised to return to Congress this fall.

Patrice Willoughby, the NAACP’s chief of policy and legislative affairs, went so far as to describe the current political moment as “the third Reconstruction.”

Black Republicans, however, are framing the exodus from Congress, at least within their own conference, differently.

Owens, the Republican congressman, is departing Capitol Hill after court-ordered redistricting reduced the number of Republican-favored seats from four to three. GOP Reps. Wesley Hunt (Texas), Byron Donalds (Fla.) and John James (Mich.), meanwhile, all opted to run for higher office.

Hunt lost his primary bid for Texas Senate, but Donalds and James are seen as top contenders for gubernatorial races in Florida and Michigan, respectively. Donalds argued these exits are a positive development, stating “what’s really happening is members are choosing now not to stay in Congress for the rest of their lives.” 

“I think that’s a good thing. Actually, I think that’s healthy,” Donalds said. “I think that’s not just indicative of Black members, I think that’s........

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