Louisiana Legislature Approves New Congressional Map

House districts for this year's elections. The new map favors Republicans in five districts and Democrats in one. It comes two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state's previous congressional map. The high court's ruling found that Louisiana had illegally used race to draw a majority-Black district.

That decision has prompted a series of redistricting efforts across Southern states as Republicans seek to capitalize on a narrowed federal Voting Rights Act. While most efforts are voluntary, Louisiana was required to redraw its map. The proposed map keeps a New Orleans-based majority-Black district while dissolving the current 6th District that snakes more than 200 miles from Baton Rouge to Shreveport.

The reshaped 6th District would instead cluster around predominantly white communities in the Baton Rouge area and southern Louisiana. The single Democratic-leaning district would stretch from New Orleans into parts of Baton Rouge.

The Supreme Court decision has triggered similar actions elsewhere. Tennessee and Alabama have already implemented new House maps that could help Republicans gain an additional seat in November. A comparable push in the South Carolina Senate stalled on Tuesday but may continue.

Georgia's governor announced he will call lawmakers back for a special session beginning June 17 to redraw state legislative districts for the 2028 elections. The move allows Georgia Republicans to act before a potential change in the governor's office.

It marks the first such effort focused on 2028 since the Louisiana ruling. President Donald Trump has encouraged Republican-led states to redraw House districts to their advantage ahead of the closely contested midterm elections. Republicans believe new maps in seven states could yield as many as 15 additional seats.

Democrats project they could gain up to six seats from new maps in two other states.

The legislation addresses the Supreme Court finding by scrapping the snaking district that created a voting bloc with a majority of Black residents. Democrats had proposed an alternative map that would have maintained two majority-Black districts. m.

A state Senate committee advanced the map in the early hours Wednesday. The full Senate could vote on it as soon as Thursday. The governor postponed the state's U.S. House primaries, originally set for this weekend, to allow time for new districts. The Supreme Court ruling last month narrowed the Voting Rights Act.

It followed earlier litigation in which a federal judge struck down a 2022 map and the high court required Alabama to create a second largely Black district in 2023. Louisiana had responded by drawing a second majority-Black district for the 2024 elections before that map was successfully challenged.

“The demographics of this state demand fair representation. The history of this state demands it. And the people of Louisiana — all of the people — deserve nothing less." — State Sen. About one-third of states have now been involved in the process. Litigation continues in some states and outcomes remain uncertain. Voters will ultimately decide the impact of the new maps in November. Control of the U.S. House is at stake in the midterm elections. Officials there still expect redistricting for congressional and legislative maps before the 2027 elections. Other states could pursue changes for 2028, including some Democratic-led states.”