Democrats performed better than expected in this year's midterm elections, managing to keep control of the Senate while suffering only a narrow loss in the House.

However, a report published by The New York Times on Wednesday suggests that the party may be losing support from a key demographic.

African American voter turnout drops

According to the article, this year's midterm elections saw African American voter turnout in Georgia, North Carolina, and Louisiana hit its lowest level since 2006.

The Times noted that those three states are unique in that they sort voters by race, allowing for what the paper called "an unusually authoritative look at the racial composition of the electorate."

In particular, only 43% of African American voters in North Carolina turned out last month compared with 59% percent of white registered voters.

Research conducted by the Times found that other areas of the country saw a drop in black voter turnout as well but the decline was less dramatic.

For example, the publication pointed to citywide data in Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Detroit which suggests that African American voter turnout in those places was between 10% and 12% below what it was in 2018.

Interestingly, this drop in black voter participation occurred even as turnout among voters from other racial groups in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan went up.

African Americans have long heavily favored the Democratic Party, and the article's author suggested that lower black voter turnout may have helped fuel Republican Sen. Ron Johnson's victory in Wisconsin.

Growing share of black voters are backing Republicans

What's more, the Washington Post cited exit polls show that a larger share of those black voters who did turn out cast ballots for Republicans, with Democratic support dropping between four and seven percentage points compared with 2018.

Aimee Allison serves as president of the left-wing activist group She the People, and she told the Post that Democrats need to be concerned.

"Black and brown voters, particularly Black and brown women, continue to be the base of the party, but the Democrats cannot take their support for granted," Allison said. "They need to take action. Because the battle for the White House is happening, starting now."