Louisiana Governor Signs Bill Creating New Congressional Map That Could Cost Republicans a Seat in Congress

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has signed a bill that redraws district boundaries, creating a second majority-black district and threatening a GOP-held seat.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks during the start of the special session in the House Chamber in Baton Rouge, La., on Jan. 15, 2024. Michael Johnson/The Advocate via AP, Pool

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, has signed a bill creating a new congressional map that establishes a second majority-black district—which could cost Republicans a seat in Congress, threatening their slim House majority.

Mr. Landry signed the new map into law on Jan. 22, several days after Louisiana lawmakers approved it in a special legislative session called to comply with a federal court order requiring the state legislature to draw the new map in compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act—or let the courts redraw the boundaries at trial.

Democrats and civil rights groups sued over the earlier map, alleging that it discriminated against black voters in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act because the 2022 map had one majority-black district out of six, while black residents make up roughly a third of the state’s population.

A lower court sided with Democrats, and then an appeals court sided with that ruling, mandating lawmakers to draw up a new map establishing a second majority-black district.

Failure of the legislature to approve the new map during the special session would have returned the matter to the lower court to be redrawn.

In signing the legislation, Mr. Landry framed the move as being about state lawmakers maintaining control of the redistricting process rather than letting the courts decide.

“We took the pen out of the hand of a non-elected judge and placed it in the hands of the people,” Mr. Landry said in a post on X.

The new map reshapes Louisiana’s 6th District, that of Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), giving it a black population of around 56 percent and making it the state’s second majority-black district.

The state’s 2nd District, which was Louisiana’s only majority-black district for several years, will retain its majority-black status with a black population of around 53 percent.

The governor’s signature marks a watershed moment—though likely not the final word—in a long-running legal dispute over congressional boundaries approved by Louisiana’s GOP-controlled legislature in 2022.

Mr. Graves was critical of the decision of Mr. Landry and the state legislature to dismantle his district, calling it a “boneheaded” move, in remarks to USA Today.

He argued that Mr. Landry and Louisiana state lawmakers should have waited for a federal trial and exhausted all avenues of appeal before caving.

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) in an interview with NTD’s “Capitol Report” on Mar. 8, 2022. NTD/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

‘This Isn’t Over’

The new map could cost Republicans their slim majority in the House of Representatives, Mr. Graves has warned.

He said that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) “has a two-seat majority, and they effectively just took one of those seats away voluntarily” with the move, Mr. Graves told USA Today in an interview. “What happens if that causes Republicans to lose the House?”

Mr. Graves said he expects further legal challenges to the new map.

“I expect with what’s at stake you’ll have one side or the other appeal, and it goes to the 5th Circuit and ultimately the Supreme Court,” he told the outlet. “I don’t see any scenario where this map holds,” adding that “they solely took race into consideration, which you can’t do.”

Similarly, Mr. Johnson voiced opposition to the new map.

“We’ve just seen, and are very concerned with, the proposed Congressional map presented in the Louisiana Legislature,” Mr. Johnson wrote in a post on X last week, when the new map was being considered by the state legislature.

“It remains my position that the existing map is constitutional and that the legal challenge to it should be tried on merits so the State has adequate opportunity to defend its merits,” he added.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks to the press after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Dec. 12, 2023. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The speaker expressed confidence that, even if Louisiana lost a court battle over the map, there were other ways to redraw its boundaries that wouldn’t entail the GOP losing a seat.

“Should the state not prevail at trial, there are multiple other map options that are legally compliant and do not require the unnecessary surrender of a Republican seat in Congress,” Mr. Johnson said.

While the new map protects Mr. Johnson’s district and that of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), it reshapes Mr. Graves’ district.

While it’s not a foregone conclusion that Mr. Graves will lose his seat, black voters lean heavily toward Democrat candidates.

Mr. Graves told USA Today he plans to run for reelection and won’t go down without a fight.

“This isn’t over,” he said.

Legal Battle

The battle over Louisiana’s congressional map has been marked by twists and turns, including when Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, vetoed the Republican-led redistricting map, prompting lawmakers to respond by overriding his objection and turning the map into law.

After the veto was overridden, a coalition of plaintiffs, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), sued.

Eventually, this led to a lower court ruling, issued in June 2022 by U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick, that mandated a revision of the map to incorporate a second majority-black district. This prompted an appeal to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which issued an order on Nov. 10, 2023, requiring the state legislature to approve the new map by mid-January 2024.

The appeals court’s order noted that if the state legislature failed to adopt a new map by the deadline, the lower court should move ahead to a trial to finalize the redrawn boundaries in time for the 2024 election.

At the time, a spokesperson from the ACLU of Louisiana praised the appeals court’s decision.

“Today’s ruling has strengthened our resolve to continue the fight for fair maps that affirm the fundamental voting rights of our community,” Alanah Odoms, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, said in a statement.

Mr. Landry, who was Louisiana’s governor-elect at the time of the appellate court ruling, said he intended to call a special session to redraw the map.

Outside of Louisiana, there are a number of other fights over new congressional lines that could influence which party will control the House of Representatives after the 2024 election.

Republicans have drawn up a map in North Carolina that could help them flip at least three seats, while Democrats hope to pick up seats in legal battles playing out in New York and Georgia.