Unintended Consequences? Racial Redistricting and the Representation of Minority Interests

Abstract

One argument propounded by critics of "majority-minority" districts is that "packing" minority constituents into such districts leaves fewer members of Congress with electoral incentives to be sensitive to minority concerns. We test this effect empirically with data concerning the voting behavior of white incumbent representatives returned to the House following the 1992 redistricting cycle. Our findings, which indicate that at least some incumbents who lost black constituents during redistricting became less sensitive to the concerns of the black community, further complicate the societal calculus concerning the desirability of "majority-minority" districts.