BREAKING: New congressional map creates majority-Black district, maintains GOP advantage
BREAKING: New congressional map creates majority-Black district, maintains GOP advantage
GA GOP fights to maintain dominance in Congress
Republican state lawmakers have proposed a new map of Georgia’s 14 congressional districts that creates a new majority-Black district while maintaining their party’s dominance in Congress.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones in October found that Georgia’s current congressional map diluted the strength of Black voters and ordered state lawmakers to create a new majority-Black district in Atlanta’s western suburbs.
The Republican-drawn map released Friday transforms District 6 from majority-white to majority-Black while shoring up all Republican incumbents, which means that the current breakdown of nine Republicans and 5 Democrats is unlikely to change.
It also reshuffles districts in metro Atlanta, which means many voters are likely to be represented by a different member of Congress after the 2024 election if the map survives expected court challenges.
Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Marietta) currently represents District 7, a majority-minority district located almost entirely within Gwinnett County. But the proposed map splits Gwinnett among four different districts.
Rep. David Scott (D-Atlanta) has represented District 13 in Atlanta’s southwestern suburbs for over two decades, but the new map would rotate the 13th counterclockwise to make way for the creation of an additional majority-Black district.
Republican incumbents would walk away from the redrawn map unscathed. Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Suwanee) is likely to run for re-election in District 7, which largely resembles the current District 6. And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Rome) Northwest Georgia district no longer includes majority-Black portions of Cobb County.
The new congressional map is a continuation of a trend we have seen throughout the special redistricting session: Republicans creating new majority-Black districts while insulating their current advantages.
Lawmakers are expected to take up the new map next week.