A new state Senate map approved by a federal judge this week will give Democrats a good opportunity to flip a Republican seat.
District Court Judge Anna Manasco, a Trump appointee, selected one of three maps drawn by a special master, after federal courts ruled that Alabama violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by packing Black voters into certain districts and diminishing their voting power. The new map will go into effect for the 2026 midterm elections.
Alabama lawmakers had an opportunity to redraw the senate map themselves, but Gov. Kay Ivey declined to call a special session of the legislature to complete the task. That left the job to the same court-appointed special master who redrew Alabama congressional voting maps two years ago.
The changes come in response to a lawsuit filed by several Black voters, the Greater Birmingham Ministries and the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP. The lawsuit alleged Black voters had been marginalized in both Montgomery and Huntsville. However, Manasco ruled that she could only find evidence of racial gerrymandering in Montgomery.
As a result, Senate Districts 25, represented by Republican Will Barfoot, and 26, represented by Democrat Kirk Hatcher, will be affected by the new map. The percentage of Black voters in District 25 will go from 29 percent to 51 percent under the new map. District 26 will go from Black voters making up 66 percent to 44 percent.
The changes will give Black voters, based on previous elections, a nearly 90-percent chance to elect a candidate of their choosing in District 25 and a 53-percent chance in District 26.
The likely change in representation will most likely not affect control of the state senate. Republicans currently hold a supermajority in both chambers.
