All articles tagged with #black voters
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s South Carolina swing served as a test for a possible 2028 run, courting Black voters, highlighting California’s redistricting reforms, and attacking Trump’s policies, while organizers tout his fundraising and local connections—though event crowds skew older and whiter, signaling ongoing internal Democratic debates about his appeal beyond the West Coast.
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, after losing the Democratic Senate primary to James Talarico, has avoided campaigning for his campaign and has publicly questioned Black voter enthusiasm for him, arguing her focus should be on downballot races—a stance that has drawn criticism and sparked questions about Democratic unity heading into November.
Pete Buttigieg visits Florence and Orangeburg, SC to court Black voters for a potential 2028 bid, touting his federal infrastructure work, backing a reparations study, and urging Democrats to defend democracy amid redistricting debates.
Florida’s primaries produced three striking outcomes that show Black voters aren’t a monolith: a Trump-backed Black Republican (Byron Donalds) is headed for the governor’s race, Angie Nixon, a Black progressive, won the Democratic Senate nomination, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz won in a heavily Black district. Taken together, the results suggest Black Floridians are being courted across the ideological spectrum and will base choices on issues like cost of living, opportunity, and representation rather than race alone, signaling a learning curve for both parties ahead of the November vote.
After a bruising Michigan Democratic primary, Republican Mike Rogers is trying to peel away disaffected voters—especially Jewish and Black communities—while Abdul El-Sayed works to unite the party and fend off a well-funded challenge in the Senate race.
A Texas Southern University poll of 500 Black Texans found strong support for Democrat James Talarico over Republican Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race, with 79% backing Talarico and 12% Paxton; Crockett’s defeat barely dents Black turnout (7% say they’re less likely to vote). A separate statewide TSU survey shows Talarico leading Paxton 47% to 45% within the margin of error, while Crockett endorsed Talarico and called for unity amid lingering tensions. Talarico has launched a $25 million Black outreach push to mobilize Black voters.
Black leaders want South Carolina to start the 2028 Democratic primary due to its large Black electorate, while Latino groups push Nevada for its sizeable Latino vote; the dispute, highlighted by statements from Rev. Al Sharpton and party leaders ahead of a DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee meeting, could influence early momentum for candidates and reflects broader intra-party tensions.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico announced a $25 million commitment for Black voter outreach at a Houston town hall, saying it would be the largest such investment in modern Texas history as he faced questions about voting rights, education, and representation while trying to win Black support and boost down-ballot efforts.
At the Texas Democratic Party convention in Corpus Christi, U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico urged Black Democrats to trust and engage with his campaign, acknowledging the party’s history of taking Black voters for granted and pledging to partner with Black communities; however, longtime Black officials and activists say outreach remains underdeveloped, and Crockett’s coalition has yet to be fully mobilized, making Black turnout critical as polling shows substantial Black support but persistent concerns about mobilization ahead of November.
Democrats say the Supreme Court’s ruling gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act could mobilize Black voters in swing districts, potentially helping Democrats win tight races as the DCCC flags 18 target seats with sizable Black populations. Polling from BlackPAC and other operatives shows high motivation among Black voters to turnout, with energy strongest in states facing redistricting, like Georgia. Yet strategists caution that turning outrage into votes depends on effective, targeted messaging across generations and regions, and that gains may still be limited by GOP-drawn maps and other issues.
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, allowed Alabama to use a 2023 congressional map that eliminates one of two majority-Black districts, a win for Republicans ahead of the 2026 elections. The majority said the state is likely to prevail on its claim the map was lawfully drawn, while a dissent argued the move undermines democracy and the rule of law. The ruling references the Court’s Louisiana decision weakening the Voting Rights Act and deferring more to states’ partisan mapmaking; lower courts had previously found the map discriminatory under the 14th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act. Alabama's primaries were delayed to Aug. 11 to accommodate the map.
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is actively courting Black voters who backed Jasmine Crockett in the primary, meeting with Black leaders, visiting HBCUs, and outlining policy priorities like maternal health. The effort underscores a broader push to unite Democrats across communities and mobilize voters of color, beyond appealing only to White swing voters. With Democrats having not won statewide in Texas since 1994, the campaign aims to build a broad coalition for the November race.
After the Supreme Court’s ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act, Southern states are rushing to redraw maps, sparking concern among Black Democrats that majority-Black districts in state legislatures and local bodies could be erased in addition to congressional seats. Analysts warn a significant share of majority-Black districts across 10 Southern states could disappear, threatening funding and policies on infrastructure, education, health care, and economic development. Governors Kemp and Reeves have signaled forthcoming redistricting steps (2028 and 2027 timelines), while activists urge litigation, protests and voter mobilization as part of a multi-year fight to preserve representation.
Louisiana’s Senate passed a new congressional map that would erase one of the state’s two Black-majority districts, potentially giving Republicans a 5-1 majority in Congress. The move follows a Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act and echoes broader Southern redistricting efforts to dilute Black voting power. District 2 would remain Black-majority and Democratic-leaning, while District 6 would be redrawn to favor white suburban areas, with the bill headed to the House and a June 1 deadline for a final map.
Black voters and civil rights groups represented by the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit alleging Tennessee’s GOP-drawn congressional map intentionally targets Black residents by cracking Memphis into three districts to dilute their electoral power, violating the 14th and 15th Amendments; the suit follows an NAACP challenge and comes amid map redraws spurred by a Supreme Court ruling that narrowed Voting Rights Act protections, with Tennessee’s map shifting the delegation from 6-1 Republican to 7-0 Republican.