WHAT ARE THE ISSUES
FOR BLACKS IN THE
2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS?
By Cash Michaels
An Analysis
With the March 3rd primaries coming up shortly, and the candidates ready to run to be selected for the November 3rd general elections, what are the critical issues important to black voters in the 2026 midterm elections?
Given that the midterm elections primarily affect Congressional representation, and which political party will control one, maybe two chambers of Congress, African-Americans may have the ability to return Democrats back to power in the U.S. House, and possibly in the U.S. Senate by this November if they come out in significant numbers.
Here in North Carolina, with Republican mid-decade redistricting to gain an extra congressional seat at the expense of costing a second-term black Democratic congressman his seat, black representation in Washington, D.C. from the state could fall from the current three to just two. So black turnout is essential.
But again, what are the issues that will drive black turnout going towards the fall general elections?
For the most part, many of the same issues that affect the general population, but maybe more acutely. For instance, jobs and the state of the economy. African - Americans are known to traditionally have a higher unemployment rate than whites. In the Trump economy, where many blacks formally worked for many years for the federal government before being downsized and laid off in the past year, are they able to use those same federal government skills to find comparable work in the private sector?
That remains to be seen, especially in an economy where the cost of living remains high because of the cost of tariffs on everyday items. So economic justice, which includes issues like a hike in the minimum wage, affordable housing, and affordable child care are among the economic issues black Americans care most about.
Another issue that impacts African-Americans for the midterm elections is health care. What is the future of Medicare and Medicaid after drastic funding cuts by Congress?
Also, with the government tax credit subsidies phased out from the Affordable Care Act, many black families can’t afford their health insurance premiums rising because Republicans and Democrats could not come to terms on extending those credits while both sides hash out the details for establishing permanent health insurance coverage.
Black voters will have to determine which side they support in Congress - the Republicans, who boast that they can come up with a better healthcare plan than the current Obamacare that 22 million Americans count on, or Democrats, who maintain that Americans like and trust Obamacare, and just want the current system of government funded tax credits to lower the cost to continue.
The ultimate answer to that question could cause yet another government shutdown.
What is the current status of social safety net programs like SNAP, which help low-income Americans stretch their food dollars? Thanks to the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” which passed Congress last year, many of those programs were cut, leaving it to the states to take up the slack. But can they do it?
The state of education is also a major concern in the African-American community. With the Trump Administration shutting down the U.S. Dept. of Education, many local school systems having to deal with funding cuts from the federal government as a result, black voters are having to pay attention to how new stringent policies are affecting their children’s learning.
Without question, there is general frustration among black voters with the Democratic Party, causing some to support Republican candidates. But then, the general negativism towards blacks, and particularly the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion policies, in addition to the erasure of African-American history from schools, museums, libraries, etc. by the Trump Administration, has also left a bad taste in the mouths of many in the Black community.
No doubt there are other issues that African-Americans must concern themselves with this midterm elections, but the most important issue is that they do not take the right to vote for granted. There is little question that dramatic change is needed to improve the quality of life for all Americans, especially blacks.
That dramatic change can’t come unless African-American decide they want to be heard at the ballot box on March 3rd and November 3rd, 2026.
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HIGH POVERTY SCHOOLS
TARGETED BY TRUMP
FUNDING CUTS
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
They came without warning.
$50 million in federal funding cuts to North Carolina’s predominately-black high poverty schools, in some of the state’s poorest counties. And according to the Trump Administration, the funding cuts were made because the grant money was going towards "...programs that reflect the prior administration's priorities and policy preferences and conflict with those of the current administration."
In case you hadn’t heard over the holiday season, NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced last month that the NC Dept. of Justice was suing the Trump Administration’s U.S. Dept. of Education for cutting a $50 million grant to the state that was through the Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) program, which was approved by Congress in 2023 to provide support “…for the planning, implementation, and operation of full-service community schools that improve the coordination, integration, accessibility, and effectiveness of services for children and families, particularly for children attending high-poverty schools, including high-poverty rural schools.”
FSCS grants also help historically black colleges and universities.
In North Carolina, the FSCS $50 million grant funding for 18 public school districts, 55 public schools and over 22,000 high poverty elementary and secondary school students in those areas provided “comprehensive services and family engagement initiatives.”
The grant was also assisting students in those counties impacted by Hurricane Helene.
When the Trump Administration Education Dept. inexplicably cut that funding, last month, NC AG Jackson warned that “A surprise cut of nearly $50 million from rural schools, with virtually no notice and no allegation of misuse, is unlawful and harmful.”
Jackson added that by cutting the funding, the Trump Administration was “breaking the law” because Congress, not federal agencies , is empowered to cut funding if necessary.
The Trump Administration notified North Carolina that the FSCS grant would be terminated as of December 31st, 2025.
In a press release, the NC Dept. of Public Instruction indicated that the funding cut would, “...if allowed to stand, ….force schools to shut down programs and potentially lay off staff in the middle of the school year.”
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