Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Republicans are trying to institute “Jim Crow 2.0.” Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) complained there’s “a mad dash across the South to get rid of African-American representation.” And Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) said the country is “moving back to where we were before all the struggles, all the marches that we’ve done” as part of the 1960s civil rights movement.
Clyburn, Carter and Cleaver are three of the Black Democrats being targeted for redistricting by Republicans in their respective home states. Carter and Clyburn became endangered following the Supreme Court’s bombshell Callais decision, which gutted Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Republicans are well-positioned to gain between three and six seats in redraws, most of which are held by Black Democrats.
The shock and anger among these Democrats — many of them longtime members — is growing exponentially as the situation unfolds. They blame the Supreme Court, the Trump administration and Republicans broadly for trying to “turn back the clock” on Black lawmakers. They also see it as an effort by Republicans to gerrymander a permanent House majority.
“It ain’t about Jim Clyburn’s district. Why do you all keep saying my district?” Clyburn told reporters on Tuesday, just hours after South Carolina Republicans had punted on redrawing the state’s congressional map.
“It’s a comprehensive approach to creating Jim Crow 2.0,” Clyburn added. “This is why I’m here… I’m gonna run no matter what.”
Republicans in the South Carolina Senate declined to extend their current session to include redistricting. So far, GOP Gov. Henry McMaster hasn’t indicated whether he will call a special session.
Here’s the latest in this rapidly changing redistricting landscape.
Louisiana. The Louisiana Senate met Tuesday evening to narrow down possible new maps. The most likely map is a 5R-1D, which would eliminate a current Democratic seat. The new map has one Democratic seat that stretches from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.
In an interview, Carter said he doesn’t envision a scenario where he and fellow Louisiana Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields run against each other. Both are focused on fighting to keep two Black opportunity seats, Carter said.
Missouri. Cleaver received a series of disappointing rulings from the Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday that may well have ended Democrats’ hopes of pausing the GOP-drawn map in the Show-Me State for the cycle.
Missouri Democrats gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to trigger a referendum on the Republican redistricting plan, which put Cleaver in a deep red seat. Democrats had hoped those signatures would pause the map for the 2026 cycle until the voters could approve it.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the submission of a referendum petition didn’t automatically stop the map from going into effect. The justices also rejected a suit claiming the map violated constitutional requirements for compactness.
Missouri could have a referendum before 2028, but it looks like Cleaver won’t have a winnable seat to run in this November.
