Thread by @DoLesbiansTip

@nataschadea @stevesi28838948 Yes, aggressive gerrymanders depend on smaller margins of victory which can be overcome by the (political) minority party working hard to boost turnout

Much easier at campaign time to pack the (political) minority voters into a small number of districts that you concede up front

@nataschadea @stevesi28838948 Realistically, however, in the southeastern United States, which are dominated by Republicans, I think all voters, including Black voters, might as well start registering as Republicans to vote in the closed Republican primary likely to pick the winner in November.

@nataschadea @stevesi28838948 In a democracy with majority rule, a (political) minority needs to engage with the system in the most effective way to pursue its interests.

The interests of citizens / voters and the interests of, sadly, senile octogenarians who die in office may very well be different.

@nataschadea @stevesi28838948 Half of all Members of Congress who recently died in office were Black Democrats, in most cases, elected and reelected from set-aside safe Black districts.

In many cases, they were in decline for years.

How effective were they in representing their constituents?

Voters decide.

@nataschadea @stevesi28838948 nytimes.com/2026/04/04/us/…

@nataschadea @stevesi28838948 At least this article mentions the octogenarians in decline who continue to seek re-election, and win, only to die in office, leaving their (former) constituents without any representation. nytimes.com/2026/04/30/us/…

@nataschadea @stevesi28838948 @threadreaderapp please unroll