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Louisiana Legislature Approves New Congressional Map Eliminating One Majority-Black District
Louisiana's Republican-controlled legislature approved a new congressional map on Friday, May 29, 2026, that is expected to give the GOP one additional U.S. House seat.[1]
The plan dismantles a majority-Black district that had stretched from Baton Rouge to Shreveport and eliminates the seat held by Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields.[1] It preserves a single majority-Black district centered on New Orleans while adding parts of Baton Rouge to Rep. Troy Carter's district.[2] The Louisiana Senate approved the map 28-10 and sent it to Gov. Jeff Landry, who is expected to sign it into law.[2] Landry earlier postponed the May 16 U.S. House primary to November to give lawmakers time to redraw districts after the Supreme Court ruling.[1]
On April 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act bars only maps drawn with discriminatory intent, a decision that opened the door for redraws nationwide.[2] The Court's decision also struck down Louisiana's 2024 court-ordered map as an illegal racial gerrymander.[2] The second majority-Black district had been created under a 2022 Voting Rights Act settlement, and lawmakers used the Court's ruling as the basis to redraw it.[1]
Early accounts framed the redraw largely as a partisan move to net Republicans an extra seat while protecting incumbents like House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise.[3] Later reporting, led by PBS, emphasized Democratic warnings that the plan amounts to a racially gerrymandered map and noted likely lawsuits from both sides.[2] Louisiana joins Tennessee and Alabama in post-ruling redraws that critics say reduce majority-Black districts, part of a broader post-Supreme Court wave Republicans hope will yield seats nationally.[1]
Show source details & analysis (4 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- On Friday, May 29, 2026, Louisiana’s Republican-controlled legislature approved a new congressional map — a plan expected to net the GOP one additional U.S. House seat — according to the new congressional map.
- The plan dismantles a majority-Black district that previously stretched from Baton Rouge to Shreveport (created under a 2022 Voting Rights Act lawsuit settlement), eliminates the district represented by Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields, reconstitutes its territory around predominantly white Baton Rouge-area and southern Louisiana communities, and adds part of Baton Rouge to Rep. Troy Carter’s New Orleans-based majority-Black district while preserving a single New Orleans-centered majority-Black district, per reporting on the majority-Black district.
- Lawmakers moved to redraw the map after the U.S. Supreme Court's April 30, 2026 decision that struck down the 2024 court-ordered map as an illegal racial gerrymander and narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to bar only maps drawn with discriminatory intent.
- Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order postponing the May 16, 2026 U.S. House primary to November 3, 2026 so the legislature could enact a new map after tens of thousands of mail ballots had already been returned, and he is expected to sign the enacted plan into law, according to reporting on Gov. Jeff Landry.
- The Louisiana Senate approved the map on a 28-10 vote on Friday, May 29, 2026 and sent it to Gov. Landry.
- Republican map-drawers considered a 6-0 GOP map but opted for a 5-1 configuration — eliminating only one Democratic-held majority-Black seat — to avoid adding more Black voters to some GOP districts and to protect incumbents including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, according to coverage of the 6-0 GOP map.
- Democrats and plaintiffs are warning of legal challenges: Democratic Sen. Sam Jenkins called the plan 'a racially gerrymandered district' during debate, original plaintiffs have criticized leaving even one majority-Black district in place, and observers say litigation threats are likely, based on reporting that quotes Sen. Sam Jenkins.
- Louisiana’s move is part of a broader post-Supreme Court wave — the state joins Tennessee and Alabama in redrawing maps to reduce or eliminate majority-Black districts after the high court’s decision.
- Nationally, Republicans believe redistricting changes after the Supreme Court ruling could yield as many as 14 seats for their party, while Democrats point to potential gains in states such as California and Utah — situating Louisiana’s redraw within a wider midterm remap effort.
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
May 29, 2026
7:03 PM
Louisiana passes new congressional map to eliminate majority-Black district, give GOP another seat
New information:
- On Friday, May 29, 2026, the Louisiana Senate approved the new congressional map on a 28-10 vote, sending it to Gov. Jeff Landry, who is expected to sign it.
- The article directly ties the redraw to the U.S. Supreme Court's April 30, 2026 decision striking down the 2024 court-ordered map as an illegal racial gerrymander and weakening the Voting Rights Act.
- Bill sponsor Sen. Jay Morris said on the floor that he 'purposely put more Democrats into District 2 to make the remaining districts better performing for Republicans' and stated he instructed demographers to avoid race data.
- Democratic Sen. Sam Jenkins called the plan 'a racially gerrymandered district' during debate, warning it will cause legal trouble, and Morris replied, 'Agree to disagree.'
- Gov. Landry postponed the May 16 U.S. House primary until later in summer 2026 to give lawmakers time to redraw the map after the Supreme Court ruling.
- The article reiterates that the 2024 court-drawn map had created a second majority-Black district under the Voting Rights Act and that the new map dismantles Rep. Cleo Fields' majority-Black district, clustering it around predominantly white Baton Rouge-area and southern Louisiana communities while adding parts of Baton Rouge to Rep. Troy Carter's New Orleans-based majority-Black district.
- The piece notes Republicans earlier considered but ultimately rejected drawing a 6-0 GOP map because it would have required adding more Black voters to some GOP seats, potentially endangering incumbents including Speaker Mike Johnson.
5:45 PM
Louisiana lawmakers pass congressional map designed to pick up GOP seat
New information:
- On Friday, May 29, 2026, Louisiana lawmakers passed a new congressional map designed to pick up a Republican seat while leaving the state with just one majority-Black House district represented by a Democrat.
- Gov. Jeff Landry is expected to sign the map into law after he previously postponed the May 16 U.S. House primary to give lawmakers time to redraw districts following the Supreme Court’s April 30, 2026 ruling.
- Republican map-drawers considered but rejected a 6-0 GOP map, with some saying a 5-1 configuration better protects House Speaker Mike Johnson by avoiding adding more Black voters to his and other GOP-held districts.
- The new map dismantles Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields’ former majority-Black district and reconstitutes it around predominantly white Baton Rouge-area and southern Louisiana communities, while adding part of Baton Rouge to Rep. Troy Carter’s New Orleans-based majority-Black district.
- Democrats argue the new 5-1 map may still be an illegal racial gerrymander by packing Black voters into a single heavily Black district, while original plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case criticize lawmakers for leaving even one majority-Black district in place, signaling litigation threats from both sides.
- The article notes Republicans nationally believe they could gain as many as 14 seats from redistricting changes after the Supreme Court’s decision, while Democrats see potential to gain six seats in California and Utah, situating Louisiana’s move within a broader midterm remap effort.
5:14 PM
Louisiana lawmakers pass a congressional map to dismantle a majority-Black district
New information:
- On Friday, May 29, 2026, Louisiana’s Republican-controlled legislature approved a new congressional map expected to net the GOP one additional U.S. House seat.
- The new Louisiana map dismantles a majority-Black district that previously stretched from Baton Rouge to Shreveport and had been created under a 2022 Voting Rights Act lawsuit settlement.
- The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last month held that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act only bars maps drawn with discriminatory intent, a decision that prompted Louisiana lawmakers to redraw the map.
- Republican Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order delaying Louisiana’s May 16, 2026 House primaries to November 3, 2026 so the legislature could enact a new map after tens of thousands of mail ballots had already been returned.
- The new map preserves one majority-Black district centered on New Orleans and extending to predominantly Black neighborhoods in Baton Rouge, while eliminating the other majority-Black district currently represented by Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields.
- Some Republicans advocated a 6-0 GOP map, but legislators opted to eliminate only one Democratic-held majority-Black seat to avoid making districts held by Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise too competitive.
- Louisiana joins Tennessee and Alabama in redrawing maps to reduce or eliminate majority-Black districts after the Supreme Court’s recent Section 2 decision, with Georgia and Mississippi governors also planning post-midterm redraws.