Presumptuous Politics

 

A general view of the Louisiana State Capitol on April 17, 2020 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Louisiana’s previous congressional boundaries, the state Senate approved a revised map on Thursday in a 27–10 party-line vote.

Sponsored by Senator Jay Morris (R-La.), the proposal now heads to the state House of Representatives for consideration as lawmakers rush to meet deadlines ahead of the November elections.

This legislative push follows a high court ruling that found the state’s prior map had illegally used race as the “predominant factor” in drawing a second majority-Black district, requiring Louisiana to redraw its lines to comply with the Equal Protection Clause.

The redistricting effort in Louisiana mirrors a broader trend across the South, where Republican-led legislatures have moved to redraw maps following recent legal shifts regarding the federal Voting Rights Act. 

 

President Donald Trump has actively encouraged GOP leaders in these states to finalize maps that maximize the party’s advantage, aiming to bolster the Republican edge in a narrowly divided U.S. House of Representatives.

If the current measure backed by Morris is signed into law, it is expected to dismantle the state’s second majority-Black district, likely shifting the congressional delegation from its current 4–2 split to a 5–1 Republican advantage.

“These maps are drawn to maximize Republican advantage for the incumbent Republicans that we have in Congress,” Morris said, according to The Associated Press.

Under this proposal, the current 6^th District — represented by Representative Cleo Fields (D-La.) — would be dismantled and reshaped into a Republican-leaning seat centered around communities in South Louisiana and the Baton Rouge suburbs. To address the recent Supreme Court ruling, the legislation scraps the existing version of the 6^th District.

The measure preserves the 2^nd District, currently held by Representative Troy Carter (D-La.). This district would extend from New Orleans to a portion of Baton Rouge and is expected to remain a Democrat stronghold.

 

However, the new boundaries could potentially pit Carter against Fields in a future primary. If the state House of Representatives grants final approval to the map by the June 1^st deadline, the bill will move to the governor’s desk for signature, likely securing a 5–1 Republican advantage for the state’s congressional delegation ahead of the November 2026 elections