Louisiana Senate Approves Controversial Congressional Map Eliminating Majority-Black District

Louisiana senators voted early Wednesday to advance a congressional map that eliminates one of the state’s two majority-Black districts, setting up a potential clash between two prominent U.S. representatives.

Senate Committee Approves Map After Overnight Debate

The Senate committee members stayed up overnight to hear hours of testimony from residents before voting on the proposal. The nearly 10-hour meeting concluded around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to Piper Hutchinson of the Louisiana Illuminator.

The full Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill Thursday, with plans to send it to a House committee next week. Lawmakers are racing to approve the new map before the legislative session ends on June 1.

Current and Proposed District Breakdown

Louisiana currently has six U.S. House districts: four majority-white and two majority-Black. The newly advanced map, SB 121, proposed by Sen. Jay Morris (R-West Monroe), maintains one majority-Black district stretching from New Orleans to Baton Rouge while redrawing the remaining districts to be majority-white.

Rejected Alternative Map

A competing proposal, SB 407, from Sen. Ed Price (D-Gonzales), sought to create four majority-white districts and two "opportunity" districts designed to give Black voters a stronger chance to elect preferred candidates. However, this map failed to advance after a 4-3 vote.

Political and Legal Context

Gov. Jeff Landry has stated that a new map is necessary before U.S. House races can proceed. He suspended House elections on April 30 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Callais case, which addressed voting rights and district boundaries.

Behind-the-Scenes Negotiations

Sen. Sam Jenkins (D-Shreveport) revealed that lawmakers had agreed not to advance a 6-0 map that would have eliminated all majority-Black districts entirely, Hutchinson reported.

Impact on Key Congressional Races

The approved map would force U.S. Rep. Troy Carter (D-New Orleans) and U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields (D-Baton Rouge) into the same district, setting up a primary battle. Both currently represent separate districts.

"The proposed map pits U.S. Rep. Troy Carter against U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields for their seats, which are currently in two different districts."

— Piper Hutchinson, Louisiana Illuminator