Louisiana Republicans have advanced a congressional map that would reshape the state's delegation in their favor, moving to erase one Democratic seat and hand the GOP a 5-1 advantage in the House after a Supreme Court ruling invalidated the previous lines.
The state Senate voted early Wednesday to push the plan forward, which would preserve a Democratic district anchored in New Orleans but stretch it into Baton Rouge, creating a potential collision between two Democratic incumbents. Rep. Troy Carter's New Orleans-area seat would remain largely intact under the new boundaries, while Rep. Cleo Fields' current district in Baton Rouge would be dismantled, forcing the two to either challenge each other or one to abandon a safe seat.
The map must still clear a full state Senate vote and win approval from the state House before taking effect. The rush reflects the window opened by the Supreme Court's decision that struck down Louisiana's previous map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, invalidating the state's reliance on racial data to construct majority-Black districts.
Republicans rejected competing proposals, including one designed to preserve both Democratic seats in a way Democrats argued would survive judicial scrutiny. They also declined to consider a plan eliminating both Democratic-held districts altogether. The choice of the middle ground suggests confidence in the current approach while avoiding the appearance of wholesale disenfranchisement.
The high court's reasoning has already given Republican-controlled legislatures in other Southern states a road map to restructure their own maps before the general election, potentially wiping out multiple majority-Black Democratic seats in the short term. Legal experts warn the ruling could reshape redistricting battles nationwide ahead of 2028, likely triggering a new era of partisan map-drawing.
This marks Louisiana's third congressional map since the last census. The Legislature drew initial lines for 2022 that a lower court struck down as unconstitutional, then passed revised maps ahead of 2024 after being ordered to create a second majority-Black district. The current upheaval forced election officials to halt House primaries mid-voting so lawmakers could redraw the lines once more.
The compressed redistricting timeline has ignited sharp conflict in the state capital. Black Democrats have attacked the process as partisan power-grabbing that drowns out minority voices. The tension escalated during a contentious committee hearing, prompting a Democratic state senator to take a leave of absence and be replaced on the redistricting panel.
Tuesday's committee hearing stretched past midnight as lawmakers heard public testimony. Republicans said the compressed schedule allowed more overflow space for public comment, though the last-minute change to move the hearing from Wednesday to Tuesday evening raised eyebrows among critics who viewed it as an effort to limit visibility of the proceedings.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "The GOP is playing hardball with the card the Supreme Court dealt them, and Louisiana's Democrats will either splinter their vote or vanish from the map entirely."
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