Louisiana state senators passed a new U.S. House map Thursday that would eliminate one of the state's two majority-Black congressional districts and give Republicans a likely extra House seat, raising urgent questions about voting rights protections just two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state's previous congressional map. The legislation, which still requires House approval, would fundamentally reshape political representation for Black communities across Louisiana.
A District Dismantled
The new bill would dismantle a district that stretches more than 200 miles northwest from Baton Rouge to Shreveport, which created a voting bloc with a majority of Black residents. Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields currently represents the 6th District. Under the proposed plan, that district would instead be clustered around predominantly white communities in the Baton Rouge area and southern Louisiana. The new plan keeps a New Orleans-based, majority-Black district represented by Democratic U.S. Rep. Troy Carter while also adding a portion of Baton Rouge to it.
Republican state Sen. Jay Morris openly acknowledged the partisan intent behind the redistricting effort. "These maps are drawn to maximize Republican advantage for the incumbent Republicans that we have in Congress," Morris said. He explained that the new map packs Democrats into the 2nd District held by Carter to allow Republicans to prevail elsewhere. Fields, a Baton Rouge resident, said he won't decide whether to seek reelection until the maps are finalized, but said he won't challenge Carter in a primary.
Democrats Denounce Racial Discrimination
Democratic state Sen. Sam Jenkins condemned what he characterized as discrimination disguised as partisanship. "If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck," Jenkins said, referring to what he called "discriminatory practices against a group of people, particularly Black voters and Democrats." When Morris replied, "It's not quacking," Jenkins answered: "It's quacking pretty loud, it's quacking all over the state." Republican senators defeated an alternative from Democrats that would have kept two Democratic-leaning districts. Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry said Republicans opted not to pursue a 6-0 Republican map because it was infeasible.
Election Timeline Shifts
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry had already postponed Louisiana's U.S. House primaries after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional map two weeks earlier. The new bill would shift the election to an open primary on Nov. 3, with all U.S. House candidates on the ballot regardless of party affiliation. If no one wins a majority, the top two vote-getters would advance to a runoff on Dec. 12. A new qualifying period for House candidates would run from Aug. 5-7. The closed primary remains in place for Louisiana's U.S. Senate race, which pits incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy against Trump-backed challenger U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow.
South Carolina Joins Redistricting Push
Republican Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina called a special session on redistricting to start Friday after the regular legislative session ended Thursday. Republican House Majority Leader Davey Hiott said it could be next week before the House finishes the redistricting bill, which would also move congressional primaries to August. All primaries are currently scheduled for June 9, with early voting beginning May 26, which Hiott said may be the deadline to finish redistricting. "The redistricting work will be long. It will be boring. It will be confrontational," Hiott said.
If the proposal passes the House, it would go to the Senate, where Republican Judiciary Committee Chairman Luke Rankin has said he will "demand the process" without elaborating. During the last regular redistricting at the start of the decade, Rankin's committee held a month of meetings across the state and encouraged the public to submit its own maps. Only one of South Carolina's seven U.S. House seats is currently held by a Democrat, longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn. Some Republicans worry it is impossible to guarantee seven GOP districts in a state where the Democratic presidential candidate has gotten more than 40% of the vote every election this century. South Carolina's elections leader said it may require employees to work 24 hours a day.
National Implications
Republicans think they could win as many as 15 additional House seats in seven states that already have adopted new voting districts. Democrats think they could gain up to six seats from two other states because of new House districts. Democrats had hoped to win up to four additional seats from new House districts in Virginia, but Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger's office confirmed Thursday that the state will hold this year's elections under the current districts as it appeals last week's Virginia Supreme Court ruling invalidating a voter-approved amendment authorizing the new districts.
Voting Rights Act History
The U.S. Supreme Court had struck down Louisiana's 2022 map for violating the Voting Rights Act. In 2023, the court ruled that Alabama had to create its own second largely Black congressional district. 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 was later challenged, leading to the April 29 Supreme Court ruling that Louisiana's districts relied too heavily on race.
Why This Matters:
The elimination of a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana directly affects the political representation of Black communities who have historically faced barriers to equal participation in democracy. When Republican legislators openly state that maps are "drawn to maximize Republican advantage" while simultaneously dismantling districts where Black voters hold electoral power, it raises fundamental questions about whether redistricting processes serve democratic principles or partisan interests. The concentration of Democratic and Black voters into a single district—what critics call "packing"—can dilute minority voting strength across a state even while technically preserving one majority-Black district. With Republicans potentially gaining 15 House seats through redistricting across multiple states, these state-level decisions carry national consequences for which communities have voice in Congress and which policy priorities receive attention. The rushed timelines in both Louisiana and South Carolina, with election officials potentially working around the clock, suggest that procedural safeguards and public input may be sacrificed to meet partisan redistricting goals before voters cast ballots.