Louisiana passes new congressional map, dismantling one majority-Black district

BREAKING NEWSMay. 29, 2026, 5:17 PM UTC2026 Election2026 ElectionLouisiana passes new congressional map, dismantling one majority-Black districtThe redraw comes after the Supreme Court declared the state’s previous map to be a racial gerrymander. The GOP is set to have a 5-1 advantage in the congressional delegation.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleSupreme Court rules 2024 Louisiana redistricting map is unconstitutional06:33Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleBy Jane C. TimmLouisiana Republicans approved a new congressional map Friday, eliminating one of the state’s two majority-Black districts and drawing an additional Republican-leaning district in its place.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The map, which is expected to elect five Republicans and one Democrat to Congress, was passed out of the state Senate Friday afternoon after being tweaked in the state House earlier in the week. Republicans currently have a 4-2 advantage in Louisiana’s House delegation.Legislators drew the new lines in response to a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Louisiana v. Callais, which found the existing congressional map in Louisiana to be a racial gerrymander and further weakened the Voting Rights Act. The map preserves one Black-majority district that snakes from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and is expected to be challenged by voting rights advocates. A third of Louisiana’s population is Black.“We have a map here that is meets all the traditional redistricting criteria, it’s not racially gerrymandered,” said Republican state Sen. Jay Morris, who authored the bill. “I feel like it’s going to be very defensible.”Republicans stressed during hours of debate and discussion that they focused exclusively on partisanship, seeking to increase GOP representation in Congress. “We focused on the Democrat numbers, not the racial numbers when drawing,” said state Rep. Beau Beaullieu,...