Court picks Alabama congressional map likely to mean Democratic gain

A new congressional map in Alabama is likely to result in a Democratic gain in the U.S. House of Representatives. The map, which was released by a three-judge panel on Monday, redrew the state’s seven congressional districts and created two majority-minority districts, one likely to be represented by a Democrat and the other likely to be represented by a Republican.

The current Alabama congressional delegation is made up of Republicans, but the new map is expected to change that balance. Democrats believe that they could gain at least one seat in the House under the new map.

The map was drawn by the three-judge panel at the behest of the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in June that Alabama’s existing congressional map was an illegal racial gerrymander. The court took up the case after the Alabama Legislative Black Caucus and Alabama Democratic Conference claimed that the existing map disproportionately benefited Republicans by depressing the voting strength of African Americans.

The court’s new map is expected to lead to a more competitive election environment in the state, which could increase the power of both Republicans and Democrats. However, Republicans believe that their chances of maintaining their majority are still good.

The new map is also expected to benefit minority representation in Alabama. The new congressional districts could increase the number of African American representatives in the state, although it is unclear how many seats will actually be filled by African American candidates.

The new map’s impact on the national level remains to be seen. However, the District Court judges wrote in their opinion that the map would likely lead to “an increase in the number of minorities elected to Congress from Alabama.” If that is the case, it could mean that the Democrats could gain a seat in the House of Representatives.