Dem
51
GOP
49
The Democrats won a House seat yesterday—and they did it without there even being a special election. After the 2020 census, the Alabama state legislature drew a new map eliminating a majority Black district—because they could. Alabama neither gained nor lost a House seat, so there was no need to change the map very much. At most, some minor tweaks to account for population change would have been enough, but the Republicans got greedy and decided to divvy up one of the two majority-Black districts. Democrats went to court and the Supreme Court ruled that the map was an illegal racial gerrymander. It ordered Alabama to draw a new map.
So the Alabama legislature got to work and drew a new map, also with only one majority-Black district. So Democrats sued again. Yesterday, the Supreme Court had enough of this game and ruled that the courts may have a special master draw a map with two majority-Black districts. This virtually guarantees a second Black Democrat in the Alabama delegation starting in 2025. Similar cases are pending in Louisiana, Florida, and other states. The Democrats might well be able to pick up the four seats they need to reclaim the majority on court rulings alone. In short, Democrats' House prospects got a bit brighter yesterday. (V)