The Democrats’ arguments in favor of race-based gerrymandering typically center around how such districts, including what they call “majority-minority’ ones like the one currently represented by Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), are critical because they allegedly give black voters more voting power.
Further, they also argue that it increases the odds black voters will be able to elect someone who looks like them, which, again, is interesting when you consider Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District and many others that are majority-minority but which are represented by white Democrats. Cohen, in fact, has faced many black primary challengers over the years (including in 2026) who, in so many words, have argued that the district would be best represented by a Democrat of color.
But what happens when the Supreme Court rules that gerrymandering based solely on race is unconstitutional, as they did in Louisiana v. Callais? Democrats will have to go back to the drawing board, which is where things could get very interesting amongst their various coalitions.
SEE ALSO: Dem ‘Super-Lawyer’ Takes the TDS to Next Level After SCOVA Ruling, and We Shouldn’t Ignore It
In reality, Democrats’ arguments about race-based gerrymandering aren’t really about giving black voters more “voting power” – it’s about electing more Democrats, since black voters have been a fairly loyal voting bloc for them over the last several decades. In effect, Democrats used and abused the Voting Rights Act to draw up these types of districts, and they can’t do that anymore. So, in some respects, it is back to Square One.
So just what are Democrats willing to try and do to counter the blow the Supreme Court dealt to their previous gerrymandering schemes? A new poll just released this week gives us some insight and shows us that a plurality “are willing to sacrifice Black voting power to beat the GOP.”
A lot of Democrats are willing to sacrifice Black voting power to beat the GOP.
In a new POLITICO Poll, a plurality of Dems say the party should counter Republican gerrymandering, even if it means reducing the number of majority-minority districts.
🔗 https://t.co/dJluigh5Hm pic.twitter.com/DFHKyk0ovE
— POLITICO (@politico) May 14, 2026
Gee. So you mean to tell me that it was never about giving black voters more voting power? Who knew?
Some might look at those numbers and say, “Well, that’s just one poll.” And that’s true. But just to remind folks, the 10-1 map Virginia Democrats drew up diluted that so-called voting power in two congressional districts:
Mind you, Obama was advocating for voters in Virginia to do this exact thing last week when they erased two VRA districts in favor of political gerrymanders. https://t.co/09rgjkHGO4
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) April 30, 2026
While the Politico poll showed some appetite among black Democrats for drawing such districts, trust me when I say that any attempts at doing this in blue states where Democrats are trying to counter red state map redraws will not go well. In fact, we saw this exact scenario play out in Illinois back in the fall of 2025 amid a push from some lawmakers there to make their already-gerrymandered 14-3 Democrat/Republican map 15-2:
NEWS: IL Senate Black Caucus has a warning for Hakeem Jeffries + Dems pushing redistricting
It won’t back any map that dilutes the Black vote in any historically Black district
Chair @SenWPrestonIL: We’re going to fight back. We just won’t do so at the expense of our own power
— Ally Mutnick (@allymutnick) October 22, 2025
Capitol News Illinois also noted at the time that “Currently, three of the state’s congressional districts are at least 40% African American, according to U.S. Census data, and Illinois has four Black representatives in Congress.”
“But a more aggressive gerrymander would likely require these majority-minority, overwhelmingly Democratic districts to absorb additional rural, majority-white parts of the state that overwhelmingly vote Republican,” they added.
Ultimately, the idea of a new map was scrapped, presumably to avoid an outright revolt from the Illinois Senate Black Caucus.
This is just me spitballin’ here, but in my opinion, Democrats are going to have a harder time than they think trying to get around this ruling when debating new maps, when one considers the gains Republicans have made with black voters in recent election cycles:
The Democratic Party has begun to lose support among Black voters as a newer, younger electorate is more open to the GOP, according to an analysis of polling data.
Recent data shows that Democrats are losing the strong support from Black voters they had in Barack Obama’s 2008 win, and going back to John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential run, Axios reported.
The number of Black adults identifying as or leaning Democratic dropped from 77% in 2020 to 66% in 2023. Meanwhile, 12% to 17% of Black adults identify as or lean Republican, according to a 2025 Gallup poll.
SEE ALSO: Black Voters Have ‘Peaced Out’ of the Democrat Party; Legacy Media Forced to Report on This Reality
Though black voters are still generally a reliable voting constituency for Democrats, things are changing – not just because of the SCOTUS ruling but also because an increasing number of black voters have seen the writing on the wall and have responded accordingly: by walking away.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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