Four years ago, the Republican Party seemed to hit the jackpot. It fielded more than 80 Black congressional candidates for the 2022 midterm elections — its most ever — which produced the largest class of Black Republicans in Congress since Reconstruction: five. After this year’s midterms, that number will probably be down to one.

The four Black Republicans in the House — Reps. Byron Donalds (Florida), John James (Michigan), Wesley Hunt (Texas) and Burgess Owens (Utah) — chose not to seek reelection. Donalds and James are vying to be their state’s governor. Hunt ran for the Senate but failed to secure the party’s nomination, and Owens opted to retire after being redistricted out of his seat. Sen. Tim Scott (South Carolina), who briefly ran for president, is the longest-serving Black Republican in congressional history at 15 years and will be the only one remaining come January.

The disappearing act in the House is the latest setback in a sudden losing streak. Since President Donald Trump’s historic showing among Black voters in the 2024 election, his job approval rating with them has been cut by more than half. Polling this month shows that Republicans receive just 6 percent of the bloc’s vote in a generic ballot. The party’s gamble to diversify its coalition paid off, but Trump........

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