Alabama Republicans are making a late push to position the state for a potential 7-0 GOP sweep of its U.S. House seats, with Gov. Kay Ivey calling lawmakers back to Montgomery for a special session tied to a high-stakes court fight over congressional maps.
Ivey summoned legislators starting Monday to approve contingency plans for special primary elections, a move aimed at clearing the runway if the U.S. Supreme Court allows Alabama to switch maps ahead of the November midterms.
Republican legislative leaders said the effort would “give our state a fighting chance to send seven Republican members to Congress.” Alabama’s delegation currently has two Democrats among its seven House seats.
The scramble comes as redistricting battles flare nationwide and courts weigh how states draw lines after recent rulings affecting race-based redistricting challenges.
In Alabama, federal judges previously ordered the state to use a court-selected map that created a second district with a substantial number of Black voters. The judges also ordered Alabama to keep that map in place until after the 2030 Census.
State officials are appealing and are now hoping that, in light of the Supreme Court’s Louisiana decision, the justices will let Alabama revert to a 2023 map drawn by state lawmakers.
That would reshape the political battlefield in the state and could significantly alter the district now represented by Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., a Black man.
The key question is timing. Any swap would depend on courts lifting the existing injunction quickly enough to implement new lines before November.
To prepare, lawmakers are considering bills that would trigger special congressional primaries in four affected districts if the courts open the door to a map change.
“As I continue saying, Alabama knows our state, our people and our districts best,” Ivey said.
Alabama’s push is unfolding as other red states also weigh mid-decade redistricting moves. Tennessee is holding a special session Tuesday to consider changes that could tighten Republican control of its congressional delegation.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has already signed a new map in his state that Republicans say could flip multiple seats, widening the GOP’s advantage in Florida’s delegation.
Meanwhile, Indiana and Ohio voters are heading to the polls in primary contests that will help set the table for this year’s midterm battles.
Democrats are also watching closely. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has signaled Democrats may pursue their own redistricting options in blue states, arguing Republicans are escalating an arms race over maps.
For Alabama Republicans, the goal is clear: get the legal green light, then move fast enough to put new district lines in place before voters head to the polls this fall.
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