UMVA has learned that the Louisiana Senate has just ratified a new congressional map that hands Republicans an extra seat in the House.
The revised blueprint dismantles the racially drawn district that courts recently branded unconstitutional, reshaping the state's political landscape.
Governor Jeff Landry is poised to sign the legislation, cementing a map that leaves only one of the two majority‑Black House districts under Democratic control.
Earlier this week, the Louisiana House cleared the same map, eliminating the contested “majority‑minority” district and sending the bill up the legislative ladder.
State officials delayed the primaries after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling struck down the previous map as a racial gerrymander, weakening a core provision of the Voting Rights Act.
That high‑court decision ignited a fierce redistricting scramble nationwide, as Republican‑led states rushed to redraw boundaries before the midterm elections.
In Louisiana, lawmakers weighed a bold scenario that could have handed the GOP all six congressional seats, but feared flooding Republican districts with Black voters would backfire.
Instead, they settled on a 5‑1 advantage, a calculation aimed at safeguarding Speaker Mike Johnson’s reelection prospects while maintaining a single Democratic‑held majority‑Black district.
Sources have confirmed to UMVA that this new map not only reshapes Louisiana’s political map but also signals a broader shift as more Republican states move to erase racially gerrymandered districts.
