List of majority-minority United States congressional districts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A majority‑minority congressional district is a United States congressional district in which racial or ethnic minorities together make up more than half of the population. Some of these districts have been drawn to comply with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits districting plans that dilute the ability of racial or language minorities to elect candidates of their choice.[1][2][3] However, not all majority‑minority districts are mandated by the Act; many result from demographic patterns or partisan considerations.[4]

As of the 119th Congress (2025), there are 120 majority‑minority congressional districts.[5] Only a fraction of these districts are mandated by the Voting Rights Act — about 30 to 40 nationwide — while the remainder are partisan‑constructed or demographic outcomes.[6][7]

The adoption of majority‑minority districts is contested both within and outside minority communities. Critics argue that such districts can dilute minority political power by “packing” voters into fewer districts, or that they resemble racial segregation. Supporters contend that they are necessary to ensure minorities can elect representatives and achieve descriptive representation in the House of Representatives.[citation needed]

Majority‑minority districts have been the subject of significant constitutional litigation, including Shaw v. Reno (1993), Miller v. Johnson (1995), and Bush v. Vera (1996), which examined the balance between Voting Rights Act compliance and constitutional limits on racial gerrymandering.[citation needed]

Notes:

  • Estimates of VRA‑mandated districts vary because the determination depends on applying the Thornburg v. Gingles test (1986), which requires that a minority group be sufficiently large, geographically compact, politically cohesive, and consistently outvoted.[citation needed]
  • Scholars and legal analysts generally place the number of mandated districts between 30 and 40 nationwide, with the remainder arising from partisan map‑drawing or demographic concentration.[8]

Section 2 requirements under the Voting Rights Act

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act requires minority-opportunity districts in geographical areas in which minority voters would otherwise have "less opportunity than other members of the electorate ... to elect representatives of their choice."[9][10] In Thornburg v. Gingles (1986), the Supreme Court held that Section 2 may necessitate the creation of a majority-minority district when (a) the minority population is "sufficiently large and geographically compact" to form a district and (b) both the majority and minority populations are sufficiently politically polarized that the majority can vote "usually to defeat the minority's preferred candidate."[11]:50–51

Bartlett v. Strickland (2009) clarified the Gingles interpretation of Section 2 by holding that the minority group must constitute "more than 50 percent of the voting-age population in the relevant geographic area."[12] Plaintiffs challenging a districting plan under Section 2 typically provide remedial maps in which the minority group composes a majority in the relevant district, such as in Allen v. Milligan (2023) where plaintiffs included "illustrative districting maps... which contained two majority-black districts that comported with traditional districting criteria."[13]

The Supreme Court has left unsettled the question of whether minority groups can be aggregated under Section 2 if they vote in coalition with one another, and federal circuit courts remain divided on the issue.[14]:13–14[15]:11

Because of this jurisprudence on Section 2, federal law requires the existence of many of the current majority-minority congressional districts.

List of districts

Majority-minority districts in the 119th Congress:
  /   African American majority/plurality
  /   Asian American majority/plurality
  /   Hispanic or Latino majority/plurality
  White plurality

The following tables identify districts that are either required under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act or are otherwise drawn to be majority minority in accordance with traditional districting criteria or to gerrymander for partisan advantage. Voting-age population data in the tables below reflect 2020 census estimates for the 119th Congress. Members are accurate as of September 1, 2025.

African-American

Currently, there are 15 congressional districts where African Americans make up a majority of voting-age constituents and 14 other congressional districts where they make up a plurality. Most of these districts are located in the South and are represented by an African American member of congress. Democrats represent each of these districts.

More information State, District ...
StateDistrictMember (119th Congress)Afric. Amer. VAP[16][a]Perc.
MississippiMS-02Bennie Thompson355,29362.1%
TennesseeTN-09Steve Cohen[b]351,81260.3%
MarylandMD-04Glenn Ivey358,20759.8%
MarylandMD-07Kweisi Mfume334,29754.7%
LouisianaLA-06Cleo Fields318,01154.0%
New JerseyNJ-10LaMonica McIver315,20152.7%
IllinoisIL-01Jonathan Jackson306,38052.0%
AlabamaAL-07Terri Sewell295,11951.9%
GeorgiaGA-06Lucy McBath307,24051.8%
GeorgiaGA-13David Scott294,37651.5%
GeorgiaGA-05Nikema Williams313,39651.1%
LouisianaLA-02Troy Carter305,12451.0%
PennsylvaniaPA-03Dwight Evans320,86451.0%
GeorgiaGA-04Hank Johnson294,88750.6%
FloridaFL-20Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick298,38350.1%
GeorgiaGA-02Sanford Bishop289,61249.3%
New YorkNY-09Yvette Clarke294,00048.9%
AlabamaAL-02Shomari Figures272,02348.7%
IllinoisIL-02Robin Kelly280,96448.4%
New YorkNY-08Hakeem Jeffries297,61648.2%
New YorkNY-05Gregory Meeks291,16847.2%
South CarolinaSC-06Jim Clyburn275,13346.9%
MichiganMI-13Shri Thanedar[b]277,72346.9%
MissouriMO-01Wesley Bell276,60245.4%
VirginiaVA-03Bobby Scott278,42445.4%
IllinoisIL-07Danny Davis261,20743.0%
FloridaFL-24Frederica Wilson258,00542.2%
TexasTX-30Jasmine Crockett242,22441.9%
TexasTX-09Al Green218,53638.6%
Close
  1. "VAP" here refers to the voting-age population in a given district.
  2. Representative is not African American.

Asian American

Currently, there are two congressional districts where Asian Americans make up a majority of voting-age constituents and six other congressional districts where they make up a plurality. Most of these districts are located in California and are represented by an Asian American member of congress. Democrats represent each of these districts.

More information State, District ...
StateDistrictMember (119th Congress)Asian Amer. VAP[16]Perc.
HawaiiHI-01Ed Case[a]398,96368.1%
CaliforniaCA-17Ro Khanna353,11258.5%
New YorkNY-06Grace Meng296,14846.8%
HawaiiHI-02Jill Tokuda247,59243.4%
CaliforniaCA-45Derek Tran250,16841.4%
CaliforniaCA-28Judy Chu256,18541.4%
CaliforniaCA-15Kevin Mullin[a]241,55039.6%
Close
  1. Representative is not Asian American.


Hispanic and Latino

Currently, there are 38 congressional districts where Hispanic or Latino Americans make up a majority of voting-age constituents and 9 other congressional districts where they make up a plurality. Most of these districts are represented by a Hispanic or Latino Democratic member of congress.

More information State, District ...
StateDistrictMember (119th Congress)Hispanic or Latino VAP[17]Perc.
TexasTX-34Vicente Gonzalez480,32288.5%
TexasTX-16Veronica Escobar463,68680.8%
TexasTX-15Monica De La Cruz434,98078.9%
FloridaFL-27María Elvira Salazar471,76374.2%
FloridaFL-28Carlos Giménez446,82873.4%
FloridaFL-26Mario Díaz-Balart456,51273.2%
TexasTX-28Henry Cuellar402,71172.9%
TexasTX-29Sylvia Garcia396,80472.4%
CaliforniaCA-22David Valadao[a]376,44869.3%
TexasTX-20Joaquin Castro392,05668.2%
IllinoisIL-04Chuy García356,19763.2%
CaliforniaCA-34Jimmy Gomez376,19861.6%
CaliforniaCA-35Norma Torres352,25761.2%
CaliforniaCA-46Lou Correa354,63161.2%
CaliforniaCA-29Luz Rivas362,53061.1%
CaliforniaCA-42Robert Garcia358,17461.1%
CaliforniaCA-18Zoe Lofgren[a]346,46860.8%
CaliforniaCA-21Jim Costa[a]322,66960.7%
CaliforniaCA-13Adam Gray[a]330,75760.7%
CaliforniaCA-25Raul Ruiz345,74560.4%
TexasTX-23Tony Gonzales340,97660.0%
CaliforniaCA-33Pete Aguilar324,61658.7%
CaliforniaCA-39Mark Takano[a]328,24958.5%
CaliforniaCA-38Linda Sanchez350,02658.3%
ArizonaAZ-03Yassamin Ansari[a]330,59658.2%
CaliforniaCA-44Nanette Barragan339,06357.9%
CaliforniaCA-31Gil Cisneros342,49657.4%
CaliforniaCA-52Juan Vargas331,83257.2%
New MexicoNM-02Gabe Vasquez299,99956.1%
ArizonaAZ-07Adelita Grijalva333,55455.5%
TexasTX-33Marc Veasey[a]302,35554.5%
CaliforniaCA-43Maxine Waters[a]307,99754.1%
TexasTX-35Greg Casar299,29551.3%
New YorkNY-15Ritchie Torres300,90151.1%
New YorkNY-14Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez308,92950.5%
New YorkNY-13Adriano Espaillat318,68250.4%
CaliforniaCA-37Sydney Kamlager-Dove[a]298,13150.3%
FloridaFL-09Darren Soto297,03250.0%
TexasTX-27Michael Cloud[a]292,19149.9%
New JerseyNJ-08Rob Menendez299,47048.9%
IllinoisIL-03Delia Ramirez257,87143.8%
FloridaFL-25Debbie Wasserman Schultz[a]256,63042.3%
TexasTX-18Christian Menefee[a]229,40639.8%
New MexicoNM-03Teresa Leger Fernandez214,59939.7%
CaliforniaCA-27George T. Whitesides[a]224,43439.2%
CaliforniaCA-09Josh Harder[a]211,24237.6%
CaliforniaCA-08John Garamendi[a]185,55331.5%
Close
  1. Representative is not Hispanic or Latino.

White plurality (majority-minority)

More information State, District ...
StateDistrictMember (119th Congress)White VAP[17]Perc.Largest Minority[16][17]Largest Minority Perc.[16][17]
MichiganMI-12Rashida Tlaib282,91447.5%Afric. Amer.45.7%
OhioOH-11Shontel Brown277,07544.5%Afric. Amer.44.3%
MarylandMD-05Steny Hoyer272,78545.7%Afric. Amer.43.0%
VirginiaVA-04Jennifer McClellan284,55345.2%Afric. Amer.42.1%
North CarolinaNC-12Alma Adams229,03239.5%Afric. Amer.38.3%
WisconsinWI-04Gwen Moore262,60447.1%Afric. Amer.31.5%
PennsylvaniaPA-02Brendan Boyle244,88341.3%Afric. Amer.26.2%
MassachusettsMA-07Ayanna Pressley275,58342.2%Afric. Amer.24.3%
MarylandMD-08Jamie Raskin281,13146.9%Afric. Amer.18.2%
CaliforniaCA-11Nancy Pelosi296,85044.6%Asian Amer.34.2%
CaliforniaCA-16Sam Liccardo277,95046.3%Asian Amer.32.1%
WashingtonWA-09Adam Smith267,55444.4%Asian Amer.26.7%
CaliforniaCA-07Doris Matsui204,01835.0%Asian Amer.26.0%
CaliforniaCA-12Lateefah Simon218,54335.2%Asian Amer.24.6%
New YorkNY-10Dan Goldman314,95949.7%Asian Amer.23.9%
NevadaNV-03Susie Lee290,35947.1%Asian Amer.20.8%
New JerseyNJ-12Bonnie Watson Coleman263,38643.5%Asian Amer.19.5%
CaliforniaCA-26Julia Brownley271,46046.2%Hispanic/Latino39.1%
New JerseyNJ-09Nellie Pou245,79240.9%Hispanic/Latino39.1%
New MexicoNM-01Melanie Stansbury278,55649.4%Hispanic/Latino37.6%
CaliforniaCA-23Jay Obernolte251,94644.1%Hispanic/Latino37.4%
TexasTX-11August Pfluger270,98147.7%Hispanic/Latino35.2%
New YorkNY-07Nydia Velázquez229,01736.8%Hispanic/Latino35.0%
CaliforniaCA-41Ken Calvert286,07848.2%Hispanic/Latino34.2%
TexasTX-32Julie Johnson214,85536.2%Hispanic/Latino32.6%
NevadaNV-01Dina Titus263,52443.9%Hispanic/Latino32.2%
NevadaNV-04Steven Horsford243,75841.6%Hispanic/Latino30.6%
TexasTX-06Jake Ellzey279,35248.8%Hispanic/Latino30.2%
TexasTX-08Morgan Luttrell276,02848.8%Hispanic/Latino29.7%
FloridaFL-10Maxwell Frost235,18038.5%Hispanic/Latino28.6%
TexasTX-07Lizzie Fletcher179,68330.2%Hispanic/Latino28.3%
New YorkNY-16George Latimer252,63641.7%Hispanic/Latino26.9%
TexasTX-22Troy Nehls252,12445.2%Hispanic/Latino26.3%
FloridaFL-14Kathy Castor306,56049.4%Hispanic/Latino26.0%
CaliforniaCA-51Sara Jacobs294,68148.6%Hispanic/Latino22.6%
New JerseyNJ-06Frank Pallone276,01145.2%Hispanic/Latino22.1%
Close

See also

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI