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Republicans in the Louisiana legislature approved a new congressional map ahead of the midterm elections that is expected to give the GOP an additional advantage in the battle for control of the U.S. House.
The map eliminates one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black congressional districts following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month that significantly weakened protections under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry called lawmakers into a special session to redraw the state’s congressional boundaries after the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s current map. The decision came just days before early voting was set to begin, prompting Landry to delay the state’s originally scheduled May 16 House primaries until Nov. 3.
The newly approved map dismantles a majority-Black district stretching from Baton Rouge to Shreveport that had been created after a 2022 lawsuit challenged Louisiana’s previous congressional boundaries. Plaintiffs in that case argued lawmakers had diluted Black voting power by failing to create a second majority-Black district in a state where Black residents make up roughly one-third of the population.
A federal court agreed, leading lawmakers to adopt the now-invalidated map that created the district.
But the Supreme Court later ruled that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act only prohibits district maps intentionally drawn to discriminate on the basis of race, reshaping how states can consider race in redistricting decisions.
“The best way to end race-based discrimination is to stop making decisions based on race,” Landry wrote in his executive order delaying the elections and calling lawmakers back to Baton Rouge.
Under the new map, Louisiana will retain one majority-Black district centered around New Orleans and extending into predominantly Black neighborhoods in Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge-based district currently represented by Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields will be dismantled, while parts of Shreveport will be absorbed into a broader northwest Louisiana district.
Fields, who won the seat in 2024, previously represented a similar majority-Black district during the 1990s before it was dismantled following a federal court ruling. Democratic Rep. Troy Carter currently represents Louisiana’s remaining majority-Black district anchored in New Orleans.
Some Republicans pushed for an even more aggressive map that would have favored the GOP in all six congressional districts. But lawmakers ultimately stopped short of fully eliminating Democratic opportunities out of concern that doing so could threaten Republican incumbents, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
Louisiana is one of several Southern states redrawing congressional boundaries after the Supreme Court’s ruling. Tennessee eliminated its lone Democratic-held congressional seat centered in Memphis, while Alabama’s redistricting battle continues in federal court. Republican officials in Georgia and Mississippi have also signaled plans to revisit congressional maps before future elections.
The broader redistricting push comes as Republicans seek to preserve their narrow House majority during this year’s midterms, with President Donald Trump encouraging GOP-led states to redraw districts favorable to Republicans.
