Louisiana gerrymander: Panel advances GOP map axing majority-Black seat [View all]

In the darkness before dawn, a Louisiana senate panel voted to eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black congressional districts and gift the seat to Republicans.

At 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Louisiana Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 4-3 down party lines to advance a bill to the floor that would draw out the majority-Black U.S House seat currently held by Rep. Cleo Fields (D). The new map would pack Black Louisiana’s into one district and pit Fields against fellow Democrat, Rep. Troy Carter. The proposal now advances to the Senate floor for consideration.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais incinerated the Voting Rights Act, sparking a round of Republican redraws ahead of the 2026 midterms.

A day after the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Callais, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry suspended the primary elections for the U.S. House, even though 42,000 absentee ballots had already been cast for the May 16 contest. Primaries for other offices are still moving ahead as scheduled, and votes already cast for House races will simply be ignored, said Louisiana Sec. of State Nancy Landry, who is not related to the governor.




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