Parties at the polls.
Voter empowerment hubs.
Early voting Halloween block parties.
The past few weeks have been jam-packed with efforts to mobilize Black voters, getting them to the polls in the hopes that they can overcome attempts to erode their voting power.
Already, these efforts seem to be paying off.
Voter turnout has reached historic levels among Black voters in Louisiana. The state was at the center of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that emboldened lawmakers in former slaveholding states to dismantle majority-Black congressional districts, as Kristen Clarke, general counsel of the NAACP, told Capital B earlier this year. There have been similarly promising signs elsewhere across the South. Black early voting has surged in North Carolina and increased in Georgia, while Tennessee has seen a sharp rise in overall early voting turnout.
Across the country, Black voters are casting ballots in elections that have been defined by battles over maps, voting access, and the expectations that constituents have of public officials. Capital B is following races in 10 states: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
Updates on the key contests — and the ramifications they might have for Black power and representation — will follow in the days ahead.
As Evan Milligan and his fellow Alabama voting rights plaintiffs put it earlier this year, “We deserve a fair shot at electing officials, regardless of party, who understand our lives and our goals.”
ALABAMA: Congressional representation
Race: Democratic U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures is facing Republican state Rep. Rhett Marques for District 2.
What’s at stake: Within weeks of the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, Alabama reverted to a congressional map favoring Republicans in June. With one heavily Black district instead of two, this map jeopardizes Figures’ ability to govern. Since he entered office in 2024, Figures, whose father was known in Alabama for bankrupting the Ku Klux Klan, has prioritized securing federal funding for rural education and infrastructure.
What we’re watching: Will Figures be able to hold onto his seat, even under a map that shrinks his district’s Black voting-age population from about 49% to 40%?
TENNESSEE: Memphis-area congressional representation
Race: Democratic state Rep. Justin J. Pearson is facing Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor for District 9.
What’s at stake: Tennessee divided majority-Black Memphis among three districts in May, shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision, gutting the state’s lone Black, Democratic district. Pearson, who currently represents state House District 86 and has been an outspoken critic of the large data center in the city, hopes to retain Democratic representation of the district. Taylor has praised the redrawn lines for mixing urban, suburban, and rural communities, arguing that districts should “represent the interests and values” of all Tennesseans, not an urban core.
What we’re watching: Will Pearson, who has been campaigning to reach rural voters outside Memphis, succeed in continuing Democratic representation of the district, which Democrat Steve Cohen has represented since 2007?
LOUISIANA: What the new map reveals about Black identity
Races: Democratic farmer Jamie Davis is facing Republican U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Bill Cassidy, who lost in the Republican primary. In the redrawn 6th Congressional District, primary candidates include Democrats Chauna Banks, Pat Forbes, and Lindsay Garcia and Republican state Sens. Blake Miguez and Rick Edmonds. The state’s general election is scheduled for Dec. 12.
What’s at stake: Louisiana’s new map eliminated one of the state’s two majority-Black congressional districts, prompting Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields to forgo reelection, which threatens to cut the state’s Black congressional delegation in half. Davis has an opportunity to become Louisiana’s first Black man elected to statewide office since Reconstruction. Black voters are turning out at their highest rate since Barack Obama’s election in 2008, giving Democrats some hope, though Letlow remains favored.
What we’re watching: Will increased Black voter mobilization help Davis to win statewide, even as Louisiana’s new map narrows the opportunities for Louisiana’s Black representation in the House?
MISSISSIPPI: U.S. Senate and Black representation
Race: Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is facing Democratic candidate Scott Colom and independent candidate Ty Pinkins for a U.S. Senate seat.
What’s at stake: Many believed that the U.S. Senate race in Mississippi would be a landslide victory for Republicans, but in recent weeks, the tide has turned, and it’s now a more competitive race between Hyde-Smith and Colom. Both have gotten support from national party figures, with Colom securing an endorsement from former President Barack Obama and a campaign visit from former Vice President Kamala Harris. Even President Donald Trump attended a rally on behalf of Hyde-Smith. Mississippi could make history: break the Republican stronghold and elect a Black man — Democrat or independent — to serve for the first time in more than a century.
What we’re watching: Will Mississippi voters elect its first Black American to serve as a U.S. senator since the Reconstruction era — or will it maintain the status quo by sending Hyde-Smith back to Washington?
MISSOURI: Redistricting and Kansas City representation
Race: Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II is facing Republican state Sen. Rick Brattin and Libertarian Randall Langkraehr for the 5th District seat, which covers the majority of Kansas City.
Voters will also approve or strike down a Republican-drawn map that splits up the 5th District, which Cleaver has represented since 2005. The redistricting lines would divide one of two historically left-leaning districts.
What’s at stake: Of Missouri’s eight congressional districts, only the 1st and 5th have consistently elected Democrats, while Republicans hold the other seats. In Cleaver’s most recent election, he defeated his Republican challenger, securing about 60% of the vote. But under a Republican-drawn map proposed in 2025, Cleaver’s Democratic district would include rural counties that have historically favored Republicans. Following a contentious battle with state lawmakers, Missourians are pushing for a public vote to approve or reject the new map.
What we’re watching: Will Missouri voters approve or deny the Republican-backed map, which would go into effect after the 2026 midterm elections?
MICHIGAN: Senate race and Black voter priorities
Race: Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers are competing for a U.S. Senate seat.
What’s at stake: El-Sayed has faced criticism from some for his more progressive platform, including his call for universal health care. His campaign comes as democratic socialism gains traction among younger voters. Michigan is one of several battleground states expected to play a key role in the midterm elections, as Democrats seek to regain control of Congress. Black voters remain influential in the state, accounting for 20% of Michigan’s Democratic primary electorate.
What we’re watching: Will El-Sayed win enough of the Black vote and keep the U.S. Senate seat blue?
FLORIDA: Congressional representation and voting access
Race: Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody is facing Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon, who’s also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
What’s at stake: Earlier this summer, Florida passed a new congressional map, redrawing its districts to favor a Republican gain in the U.S. House. Advocates say that it may diminish Black and brown voting power in the state. Nixon, who staunchly opposed the effort, was arrested for and charged with misdemeanor trespassing for protesting outside of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office. She wants to prioritize affordable healthcare, free childcare, and a universal jobs program. Moody, who is backed by Trump, is a “key supporter” of his “America First” policies.
What we’re watching: Will Nixon become the state’s first Black senator, despite efforts to redistrict and undermine Black voters?
TEXAS: Statewide contests and redrawn districts
Races: Democratic state Rep. James Talarico is facing Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate. In the Houston-area 18th Congressional District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee is facing Republican Ronald Whitfield.
What’s at stake: Texas’ Republican-drawn congressional map packed Black and Latino voters into the 18th District while diluting their voting strength in the neighboring 9th, forcing longtime U.S. Rep. Al Green into a primary contest that Menefee ultimately won. The Senate race offers a statewide test of whether Talarico’s coalition-building approach can win over voters concerned about healthcare, reproductive rights, and voting access, which are all priorities Black Texans emphasized in interviews with Capital B.
What we’re watching: Will Talarico’s coalition-building strategy, which helped him to defeat U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the primary, draw enough support from Black voters to beat Paxton?
NORTH CAROLINA: Voting access and congressional representation
Race: Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis is facing Republican Laurie Buckhout for the District 1 seat. Davis defeated Buckhout by about 1.5 percentage points in 2024.
What’s at stake: District 1 has been a center of Black political representation for more than three decades. But its boundaries have been repeatedly redrawn, each change making it more difficult for Black North Carolinians to influence election outcomes. North Carolina approved a map in October 2025 that shifted communities between the 1st and 3rd districts, replacing some heavily Black areas in the 1st with whiter areas that lean Republican. These changes threaten Davis’ seat. Davis has been a proponent of boosting rural access to hospitals in the state’s northeastern region, known as the Black Belt.
What we’re watching: Davis narrowly defeated Buckhout in 2024 — will he be able to retain his seat under a map that further favors Buckhout?
MARYLAND: Governor’s race and Black leadership
Race: Democratic incumbent Wes Moore is facing Republican Dan Cox, Green Party candidate Andy Ellis, and Working Class Party candidate Cathy White for governor of Maryland.
What’s at stake: At the moment, Moore is the only Black governor in the U.S., though that might change depending on how elections in Florida, Georgia, and elsewhere play out. Maryland recently reentered the redistricting fray, after earlier attempts stalled. Moore and other Democrats have been rallying around a proposed constitutional amendment that would grant state leadership broad authority over the redistricting process. This move follows Republican-led efforts to redraw maps outside of the normal cycle.
What we’re watching: Will elevating redistricting and threats to the Black vote prove to be enough for Moore, who’s been in office since 2023, to remain in the governor’s mansion?
