Louisiana lawmakers advance new 5-1 congressional map that favors Republicans

Louisiana lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled a new congressional map for the 2026 election after the Supreme Court struck down the state's current map in a landmark ruling last month. The new map will eliminate one of the state's majority Black, Democratic-leaning districts while keeping one Democratic-leaning district. The district map now favors Republicans in five districts and Democrats in one. The state Senate and Governmental Affairs committee advanced the map in the early hours on Wednesday. Democrats had proposed their own map that kept the 4-2 map in place. The new single Democratic-leaning district stretches from New Orleans into parts of Baton Rouge, potentially pitting the state's two Black representatives, Cleo Fields and Troy Carter, against each other. Fields' majority Black district was dissolved into other districts. The map was advanced by the Louisiana state senate. Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee In a statement, Fields vowed to fight the new map . "That bill may have failed, but its principles have not," Fields said in the statement. He added that as the bill "moves to the full Senate, I will be fighting to ensure those principles are not left behind. The demographics of this state demand fair representation. The history of this state demands it. …