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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry plans to delay the state’s May 16 congressional primary to give lawmakers time to redraw district lines after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the current map, according to two people familiar with the decision.
Landry, a Republican, informed GOP members of Congress of his plan, sources told NBC News. In a joint statement Thursday with Attorney General Liz Murrill, the governor said the ruling left the state unable to proceed with existing districts.
“We are working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward,” they said.
The court’s decision, issued Wednesday, found Louisiana’s congressional map to be an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, forcing the state back to the drawing board just weeks before scheduled elections.
Absentee voting is already underway, and early in-person voting was set to begin within days, raising legal and logistical questions about halting the process midstream.
Despite those challenges, Republican officials have signaled confidence that delaying the primary will withstand scrutiny, citing the court’s clear directive that the current map cannot be used.
The ruling sharply limits how states can consider race in redistricting under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a shift that is expected to have nationwide consequences.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority that allowing race to play any role in drawing districts departs from constitutional norms, narrowing a key tool previously used to create majority-minority districts.
In Louisiana, Republican lawmakers are expected to redraw the map in a way that could eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic-held congressional seats.
That effort is likely to focus on the district represented by Rep. Cleo Fields, which was central to the legal challenge. The state’s only other Democratic-held seat is represented by Rep. Troy Carter.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the delay is effectively unavoidable given the court’s ruling.
“The governor has no choice but to suspend [the May 16 primary] because the courts just ruled our map unconstitutional,” Johnson told reporters.
State officials have not yet outlined a revised election timeline, but any changes will likely require coordination with election administrators and could face legal challenges from affected candidates or voters.
Louisiana’s decision is among the first tangible consequences of the Supreme Court’s ruling, which voting rights advocates say weakens protections for minority voters and could reduce representation in Congress.
In the short term, the decision may allow some Republican-led states to redraw districts in ways that favor their party. Longer term, analysts say the full political impact may not be felt until after the next redistricting cycle, when states have more time to implement changes.
Democrats and civil rights groups warn that the ruling could significantly reduce the number of districts where Black voters can elect candidates of their choice, particularly in Southern states.
Louisiana lawmakers are expected to move quickly to draft a new congressional map, though the timeline remains uncertain given the proximity of the election.
The state’s Senate primary — including a competitive race involving Sen. Bill Cassidy and Rep. Julia Letlow — could also be affected, though officials have not yet clarified the scope of any changes.
As the legal and political fallout continues, Louisiana is likely to serve as an early test case for how states respond to the court’s new limits on race in redistricting — and how those changes reshape the electoral landscape ahead of 2026 and beyond.
