Republican senators in Louisiana advanced a plan Wednesday to reshape the state's congressional districts following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the state's U.S. House map as an illegal racial gerrymander, marking the latest development in a 10-month-long national redistricting battle that already has involved about one-third of the states. The early morning Senate committee vote came after hours of impassioned testimony from Black residents and Democrats opposed to the move.
The plan would eliminate one of two majority-Black, Democratic-held congressional seats. Republicans opted not to pursue a more aggressive approach, which could have targeted both Democratic seats for elimination. The Louisiana Senate could vote Thursday on the new House map advanced by a committee tasked with redistricting.
The Redistricting Plan
The plan keeps a New Orleans-based, majority-Black district represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Troy Carter while also including a portion of Baton Rouge. It significantly reshapes the 6th District, represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, which currently snakes northwest from Baton Rouge to Shreveport to create a second majority-Black district. That district would instead be clustered around predominantly white communities in southern Louisiana around Baton Rouge.
State Sen. Jay Morris, a Republican who sponsored the revised map, said the new districts are very similar to those used in 2022 that resulted in five Republicans and one Democrat winning election. A federal judge struck down the 2022 map for violating the Voting Rights Act. Then in 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Alabama had to create its own second largely Black congressional district.
Legal Background
In light of the Alabama ruling, the Louisiana Legislature passed a revised map, creating a second majority-Black district that was used in the 2024 elections. That map also was challenged, leading to last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Louisiana's districts had relied too heavily on race. The Supreme Court followed with a decision also overturning a judicial order mandating that Alabama use a House map with two largely Black congressional districts.
The Supreme Court's recent ruling weakening federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities has prompted Republicans in several Southern states to try to eliminate House districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats. Tennessee and Alabama already have acted to implement different House maps that could help Republicans win an additional seat. A similar effort fizzled Tuesday in the South Carolina Senate.
National Context
The redistricting efforts to undo minority districts are the latest in a 10-month-long national redistricting battle that already has involved about one-third of the states. It gained steam when President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans last year to redraw House districts in an attempt to win more seats in the midterm elections. Democrats in California responded with their own new districts. Numerous Republican states have redistricted since then.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has postponed Louisiana's U.S. House primaries, scheduled for Saturday, to allow time for new districts to be put in place. Fields, a Baton Rouge resident, said he won't decide whether to seek reelection until the maps are finalized. But he said he would not challenge Carter in a primary. "I've said from day one, I have no interest in running against Troy Carter. Period," Fields told The Associated Press. "The real issue is not whether I serve another second in Congress. The real issue is whether or not a person like me will have the opportunity to serve in Congress."
During committee testimony on Tuesday, many Democrats and Black residents suggested Louisiana could revise its districts in response to the high court ruling in a way that could preserve two Democratic-leaning seats that give Black voters an opportunity to elect the candidates of their choice. They argued that it was a matter of fairness. As the hearing stretched into the night, Josiah Hardy, a high school sophomore, told lawmakers his great-grandfather fought for civil rights and equal representation in Louisiana when Black voters were disenfranchised. "Why are we still fighting the same fight decades later?" Hardy questioned. "My great-grandfather believed democracy is stronger when more people are included, not excluded. Further generations should not have to keep fighting the same battles for fairness and voting rights that leaders before us have already fought."
Why This Matters:
The Louisiana redistricting reflects the Supreme Court's evolving interpretation of the Voting Rights Act and its limits on race-based district drawing. The ruling establishes that districts cannot rely too heavily on racial considerations, even when attempting to ensure minority representation. This legal framework now governs how states balance competing constitutional principles in drawing electoral boundaries. The outcome will determine whether Louisiana's congressional delegation reflects the 2022 electoral patterns or maintains districts shaped primarily by demographic composition. Republican Gov. Jeff Landry's decision to postpone Saturday's primaries demonstrates the practical challenges of implementing court-ordered redistricting on compressed timelines. The resolution of Louisiana's map will influence similar redistricting debates in other states navigating the Supreme Court's recent Voting Rights Act decisions.