The next step for Alabama's congressional maps
TOP LINE
When a federal court in Alabama last week ruled that the state's 2023 congressional map violated the Voting Rights Act because it diluted the voices of Black voters, groups that were challenging the map hailed the decision as 'triumph for voting rights.'
Where the case goes next could be hugely consequential. While some voting rights advocates fear what the Supreme Court could do if the case is appealed, others see a review by the nation's highest court as a chance to impose federal bounds on Alabama's future maps.
In many ways, the three-judge district court panel from Alabama ruled precisely how the groups had hoped. In the 571-page ruling, the panel said it was 'not a close call' that Alabama had drawn a congressional map that is an illegal racial gerrymander, violating section two of the Voting Rights Act.
'It would be remarkable — indeed, unprecedented — for us to hold that a state legislature that purposefully ignored a federal court order acted in good faith,' the judges wrote in their ruling, which was released on Thursday.
That map was never actually used in an election, after earlier court decisions blocked it. Instead, a court-drawn map was used last year, and now-Rep. Shomari Figures won in the redrawn 2nd Congressional District, giving Alabama two Black Democrats in its delegation.
But there are likely more fights ahead. Legal challenges related to congressional maps have a direct line of appeal to the Supreme Court, and some voting rights advocates worry the court could use the case to further weaken the Voting Rights Act.
The Alabama attorney general's office has said that 'all options remain on the table,' and Secretary of State Wes Allen told NPR that he 'can't comment on ongoing litigation in which I'm a named defendant.' Washington University in St. Louis law professor Travis Crum, an expert on voting rights, said an appeal — which he called a matter of 'when, not if' — could provide Alabama 'another bite of the apple' to go after parts of the VRA, specifically issues related to race-based redistricting.
The Supreme Court has so far agreed that Alabama's earlier map was racially biased, ruling in 2023 that it had to redraw the 2021 map. The legislature then drew the 2023 map — the one currently being challenged — that still did not include a second majority-Black district. That then prompted a federal court to reject that map and impose the one used last year.
But the Supreme Court could rule the same way again, continuing to find the legislature's 2023 map proposal racially discriminatory.
After all, Crum noted, the state legislature had refused the court mandate to draw a second majority-Black district: 'Alabama's response was essentially the jurisprudential equivalent of a middle finger.'
So even with a Supreme Court that has narrowed the power of the VRA in the past, Crum is optimistic. He thinks that last week's lower-court court ruling has actually opened the door for the justices to do something else instead: use the VRA to require Alabama to have future congressional maps pre-approved by the federal government before they can go into effect.
'This is an ideal case for a bail-in to go to the Supreme Court,' Crum argued in a recent blog post.
Happy Monday. Get in touch: @andrewjfhoward or ahoward@politico.com.
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AT THE DNC — DNC Chair Ken Martin on Saturday doubled down on his ultimatum for rogue Vice Chair David Hogg: Take a neutrality pledge or step down, my colleague Ben Johansen reports. The statement comes hours after it was reported by POLITICO that Hogg privately pitched a compromise to his party in recent days.
OVER THE WEEKEND — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced Friday evening that she was ruling out a Senate bid, following the same decision from Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. The moves 'were some of the first dominoes to fall ahead of the 2026 midterms — and come the week the starting gun for those races sounded,' my colleague Adam Wren reported in Saturday's Playbook.
… 'Trump Is Already Obsessed With the Midterms,' POLITICO's Rachael Bade reported over the weekend.
… Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins told CNN's Manu Raju and Sarah Ferris 'it's certainly my inclination to run and I'm preparing to do so,' when asked if she will be on the ballot in 2026. Democrats have yet to recruit a high-profile challenger to run against the incumbent senator.
… 'GOP Senate Campaign Drama Heats Up, but Trump Is Staying Out of It,' by the Wall Street Journal's Josh Dawsey and Lindsay Wise. 'As the 2026 races start to shape up, Trump has largely rebuffed efforts from Senate Republicans to endorse favored primary candidates and influence competitive contests, according to lawmakers, strategists and others familiar with the discussions.'
SUNDAY RECAP — Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar told 'Meet the Press' that Democrats would have been 'better served by a primary' in 2024. 'You know, everything we look at in a rearview mirror after you lose an election. Yes, we would have been served better by a primary. But we are where we are,' she told NBC's Kristen Welker.
BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — '18 months out, these are the 10 most vulnerable House members of 2026,' by Roll Call's Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire.
OFF TO THE RACES — State Sen. Jason Pizzo, who recently proclaimed the Florida Democratic Party 'dead' before leaving it, said he will run for governor as an independent in 2026, my colleague Gary Fineout reports. 'Everyone else already in the gubernatorial mix has severe and prohibitive baggage, or vast limitations, in leading this state,' Pizzo told Fineout in a text.
… Democratic Michigan state Rep. Joe Tate is jumping into the crowded primary for the state's open Senate seat, per the Associated Press' Isabella Volmert.
CASH DASH — 'Trump, Raking In Cash, Expands His Power in the G.O.P. Money World,' by The New York Times' Theodore Schleifer and Shane Goldmacher. Two of the largest Republican super PACs — the Congressional Leadership Fund and the Senate Leadership Fund — 'are working closer than ever with the White House, overhauling their boards of directors and installing veteran Trump strategists in senior positions.'
BIDEN WORLD — Following Joe Biden's return to the spotlight last week, some Democrats are hoping the former president doesn't stay in the limelight for long. 'It's time for Joe Biden to go away with all due respect and let the next generation of Democrats take the mantle,' Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha told POLITICO's Brakkton Booker.
… ''Pod Save America' host Jon Favreau advised Democrats who aspire to run for president in 2028 to 'rip the f‑‑‑ing Band-Aid off' and say that former President Biden shouldn't have run last year,' the Hill's Filip Timotija reports.
TAKING A LOOK — Oklahoma Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters is considering running for governor in 2026, he told a local ABC affiliate.
LEGAL CORNER — 'Riggs won NC's Supreme Court battle, but elections will face long-term consequences,' by the News & Observer's Kyle Ingram.
FIRST IN SCORE — STAFFING UP: The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee announced seven additions to its board on Monday. They are California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Colorado Senate President James Coleman, Illinois Speaker Pro Temp Kambium Buckner, Michigan Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey, Virginia House Speaker Don Scott and Wisconsin Assembly Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer.
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