Louisiana legislature passes GOP-backed congressional map

Louisiana lawmakers gave final approval May 29 to a new Republican-backed congressional map that would reduce the number of majority-black districts in the state from two to one, a change that would likely give the GOP another seat in the U.S. House. 

The state Senate approved the revised map in a 28-10 vote on May 29 after the Louisiana House adopted amendments earlier this week. The legislation now heads to Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, who is expected to sign it into law. 

The proposal would eliminate the current 6th Congressional District, represented by Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields. Under the existing map, the district stretches from the Baton Rouge area north toward Shreveport. The new plan would retain one majority-black district based in New Orleans and extending into parts of Baton Rouge. 

If signed into law, the map is projected to create five solidly Republican-leaning districts and one Democratic district, shifting Louisiana’s congressional delegation from its current 4-2 Republican advantage to a 5-1 split.

The Senate approved the proposed congressional map in a 27-10 vote earlier this month. The measure returned to the chamber for final approval after the House amended the legislation earlier this week, according to The Hill. 

Lawmakers drew the new lines in response to an April 29 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which struck down the state’s previous congressional map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. That ruling prompted a broader wave of mid-decade redistricting efforts in several Republican-led Southern states. 

Politico reported that the new map “will almost certainly” face legal challenges once signed into law, setting up another round of litigation over the state’s congressional boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterm elections

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