By Ashey Brasfield
The U.S. Supreme Court could overturn 60 years of precedent in a Voting Rights Act Case and give Republicans an edge in the 2026 midterms.
The Court could decide to strike down race-based districts in the Louisiana v. Callais case, a move that could allow for the GOP to pick up nine or more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to the New York Post. (RELATED: SCOTUS May End ‘Disastrous’ Legal Standards Forcing States To Draw Congressional Districts Just For Minorities)
Democrat-held districts could face increased scrutiny following a signal by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority during oral arguments that it may narrow the reach of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. This could curb the use of race as a primary factor in drawing congressional district lines. The oral arguments took place Oct. 15 over the consolidated cases Louisiana v. Callais and Robinson v. Callais.
Today at SCOTUS, the @CivilRights told the Justices that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act cannot constitutionally require race-predominant districting! pic.twitter.com/6uWrzNs9Eq
— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) September 25, 2025
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act prohibits voting laws or congressional maps that discriminate based on race or color. Over time, it has frequently been invoked to support the creation of majority-minority districts — an approach that has often benefited Democrats, especially in Republican-led states with large black populations, according to the New York Post.
The Supreme Court has considered a challenge to Louisiana’s congressional map brought by the Trump administration and state officials. Plaintiffs argued that a second majority-black district created in response to a court ruling violated the Fourteenth Amendment by making race the central factor in how the district was drawn.
After the 2020 census, Louisiana’s original 2022 map included just one majority-black district. Lower courts later ordered the state to redraw the map, ruling that the original boundaries unlawfully diluted minority votes in violation of Section 2. (RELATED: Alan Dershowitz Predicts Supreme Court Will Deliver Shift In Election Law)
The implications go far beyond Louisiana. The party controlling the White House frequently loses House seats in midterm elections. With Republicans holding only a razor-thin majority, that trend could threaten their control of the chamber.
The high court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais could fundamentally alter this long-standing political dynamic. Ballotpedia identified roughly 30 congressional districts nationwide with a majority or plurality black population in 2023.
More than half of these districts are located in Republican-led southern states like Louisiana, potentially putting them at risk, according to the New York Post. Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District is directly implicated in the case, making Democrat Rep. Cleo Fields one of the lawmakers most vulnerable to the outcome.
This veteran civil rights litigator, who just won a Voting Rights Act case that helped Black Democrats break a GOP supermajority in deep-red Mississippi. Now, he shares his fears that #SCOTUS could be on verge of crippling the VRA.https://t.co/jGCyQedSt3
— Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) December 22, 2025
Fields addressed the case after the oral arguments in a press release. “While I am cautiously optimistic following this morning’s hearing, we must remain vigilant and committed to defending the principles enshrined in Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” he said. (RELATED: Supreme Court May Deal Democrats A Huge Blow To Ever Taking House Back)
Other Democratic seats that could be affected by the decision include Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, Rep. Troy Carter of Louisiana, Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Rep. Shomari Figures of Alabama, Rep. Wesley Bell of Missouri and Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama.
