Black women turned out in force again in the midterm elections.
According to voter poll data, more than 93% of Black women voters backed Democrats in the 2026 midterms, helping fuel Democratic wins in historically red states, including Georgia and Texas.
During the 2026 AFROTECH™ Conference, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who represents Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District, and Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, who represents New York’s 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, reflected on the historic night, which included the election of former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as the first Black woman elected governor of any state.
“Elated,” said Clarke when asked how her heart felt during the conference, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary this year. “I just can’t find the proper adjectives that bring it all together. It’s the reaffirming of self through my people, and known that they knew the assignment, and there was a lot to worry about, you know, whether Black women would be activated again. We knew we were going to go back. But being able to touch the hearts and minds of young people, and after I saw North Carolina A&T State University, I was like, ‘Oh, we in?’ So, I’m elated, but understanding that this is a pivotal moment for our nation, and we have to work in earnest to build out a nation that is reflecting of who we are as a people in the context of the American experiment.”
Pressley added to the sentiment.
“I feel elated. I feel proud. I feel affirmed,” she said. “I feel all those things. I think, most of all, just clear-eyed, resolved, and readying ourselves for the work ahead. Because honestly, as transformative and historic and meaningful so many of these elections are many firsts. What happens at the ballot box is just a down payment. So now we’re ready to do that deep, transformative work.”
On the work being far from over
Blavity asked Pressley and Clarke how the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) will make sure Black voters who helped deliver the wins see something real, and quickly.
“I feel good because an architecture had been built out through the Congressional Black Caucus that touched on every sphere of influence in our civil society that touches the lives of Black folks, all of our civil rights organizations, all of our sororities and fraternities, all of our churches, we have, I think, building blocks in place that need to be reinforced, strengthened and built out for the long haul,” said Clarke. “I’m talking about succession planning. Organizing on the ground, day in and day out, and what does it look like for our people to understand the gravity of the power that they hold?”
Pressley added, “Before I was in Congress, I was on the city council, and I remember every time there was an incident of gun violence, the media would only go to the Black members on the council and say, ‘What are you going to do?’ And I just fast-forward to say that we know when the rest of the country catches a cold, Black folks catch pneumonia. The violent anti-Black rhetoric and policy of this administration have had a disproportionate burden on Black people because we have been targeted. Everything has been happening according to his design. I don’t know what Black woman hurt him, but every day he’s woken up and thought of new ways to weaponize the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, the FBI, against Black women simply doing their jobs.
“The attack on the Black worker, Black families and futures, with the sledgehammer taken to the federal infrastructure. The dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, quite literally trying to erase the word Black, from the government, trying to erase us, and so I just use that example of when things would happen in the Black community, people would only go to the Black community and say, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ In this moment, we have leverage and have a mandate and so our legislation, the AI Civil Rights Act, H.R. 40 Reparations, fighting for repair and restoration for Black people, that is not just the work of the CBC. Now is the time for reciprocity, and those needn’t just be Black priorities. That needs to be the priority of any person of conscience that says there is a parademocrat espousing a commitment to things like racial justice and equity, but not always practicing it.”
Being proactive vs. reactive
Rep. Steven Horsford weighed in on what lies ahead for his state of Nevada, where he has represented the 4th Congressional District since 2019.
“The first bill will be decided by the Speaker of the House, Hakeem Jeffries, and it will be around the affordability crisis because that is the main pain point that people spoke about in this most recent election on Tuesday,” Horsford, who previously served as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 2023 to 2025, explained. “But it’s also about having an affirmative agenda, not just what we’re against, but what we’re for.”
He added, “And when it comes to tech and innovation, it has to be comprehensive because one bill is not going to solve all of the issues. With Speaker Jeffries’ leadership and our new House Democratic majority, the great thing is we don’t have to wait for someone else. We will be the ones driving that agenda. It will be a positive, affirmative agenda that’s about creating opportunity, building wealth, supporting small businesses, and making sure that creators, developers, and owners are at the table helping us to design it. That’s why we’re here at AfroTech, and that’s why we’re going to continue to be engaged in this work together. Because we can’t do it alone. It takes those already doing it to help inform policy. And it’s not just at the federal level. This is how we implement it with mayors, with county execs, with state legislators, and now with five new Black governors across the country.”