Court picks new Alabama congressional map that adds a second Black Democratic district

A federal court Thursday picked a new Alabama congressional map that virtually guarantees a second Black Democrat to the state’s delegation.

In a major victory for voting rights advocates, a three-judge panel ordered the deep-red state to use a new map next year that adds a mostly new district including the city of Montgomery and wide swaths of the state’s rural Black Belt.

Alabama’s white Republican leaders have denounced the court’s push to add a second Black district to the seven-member delegation in the state that is about 27% Black.

They defied the court’s initial ruling that ordered them to dump their previous map, which the judges called a racist gerrymander that violated the Voting Rights Act.

The conservative U.S. Supreme Court backed up the ruling, effectively dooming the old map.

The new map — which is in effect now — strands Rep. Barry Moore, a hardline pro-Trump Republican, in a nearly 50% Black district that voted for President Biden by 12%.

He is mulling whether to switch districts and mount a primary challenge to Rep. Jerry Carl in his Mobile-based district that remains solidly Republican.

Democrats say they expect a wide open primary fight for the new AL-02 district, while Democratic incumbent Rep. Lori Sewell is expected to cruise to reelection in her deep blue Birmingham-based seat.

The ruling effectively flips one seat from Republicans to Democrats as pundits eye a close battle for control of Congress in 2024.

It could force lawmakers in Louisiana and Georgia to one additional majority Black district in each state to comply with the Voting Rights Act before next year’s elections. It could also lead to similar shifts in South Carolina and Texas, although court challenges in those states are not as advanced.

Republicans across the Deep South have long sought to cram as many Black voters as possible into as few districts as possible, allowing the GOP to hold onto more safe seats elsewhere.