The Louisiana Senate on Thursday approved a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections by a vote of 27-10. The legislation would eliminate one of the state’s two Democratic-held U.S. House seats and sends the redistricting plan to the Louisiana House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a two-thirds majority.
The amended map removed Pointe Coupee Parish from District 5 and assigned it to District 6. It also split St. Landry Parish among the 3rd, 5th, and 6th Districts. Tangipahoa Parish was reconfigured such that its northern portion joins District 5 while the southern section falls into District 1.
District 2, Louisiana’s only majority-Black congressional district with a population center in Orleans Parish, remains largely unchanged under the new plan. The seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, a New Orleans Democrat. Senate sponsor Jay Morris stated he designed the map to preserve Carter’s incumbency while “concentrating more Democratic-leaning voters” into District 2.
State officials confirmed Louisiana must redraw its congressional map following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that invalidated racial considerations in redistricting. The state had suspended its congressional primaries after this decision, and Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill noted the current map is “enjoined” from use until a new framework is finalized.
Democratic lawmakers, civil rights advocates, and voting rights groups criticized the proposed map for diluting Black voters’ electoral power in a state where Black residents constitute about one-third of the population. The new plan would likely result in Republicans capturing five of Louisiana’s six congressional districts in November. Democratic Senator Katrina Jackson-Andrews urged the Senate to “support a map that gives everyone a voice.”
Republicans, including Morris, asserted the map was drawn solely for partisan advantage rather than racial lines. The previous map—containing majority-Black districts centered in New Orleans and Baton Rouge—was deemed unconstitutional after the Supreme Court found lawmakers overrelied on race when crafting district boundaries. The revised map now connects only one Democratic seat across the two major cities, potentially placing incumbent U.S. Reps. Troy Carter and Cleo Fields against each other in November.
