Louisiana lawmakers passed a new congressional map Friday that hands Republicans an extra House seat and leaves the state with just one majority-Black district.
Senators voted Friday to accept the House’s version of Senate Bill 121, which passed 66-35 on Thursday. The bill, by Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, now goes to Gov. Jeff Landry, who supports it.
The map redraws Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields’ 6th District around mostly white communities in the Baton Rouge area. It will no longer be majority-Black. Democratic Rep. Troy Carter’s New Orleans-based 2nd District stays mostly intact as the state’s lone majority-Black seat and picks up part of Baton Rouge.
Republicans pushed the redraw after the U.S. Supreme Court in April struck down Louisiana’s current map in Louisiana v. Callais. The court ruled that lawmakers had relied too heavily on race when they drew the 6th. Landry suspended the state’s May 16 House primary the next day. Voters will see the new lines in an open primary Nov. 3, with a Dec. 12 runoff if needed. Qualifying runs Aug. 5 to 7.
The map already draws criticism from both sides. Democrats say it packs Black voters into one district. The Callais plaintiffs say keeping a majority-Black district at all violates the same ruling that scrapped the old map.
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