Louisiana rushes to redraw congressional maps after Gov. Landry suspends primaries

Name: Louisiana rushes to redraw congressional maps after Gov. Landry suspends primaries
Uploaded: 2026-05-11T03:01:48.000Z
Duration: 13 min 34 s
Channel: 60 Minutes

60 MinutesMay 11, 202613m

Topics7

Chaos in Redistricting After Supreme Court Ruling0:01 Protests at Galilee Baptist Church in Shreveport1:02 Description of Louisiana's Sixth District3:30 Interview with Governor Jeff Landry5:31 National Redistricting Efforts7:30 Expert Analysis on Gerrymandering's Impact9:00 Concerns from Shreveport Residents11:02

In a Nutshell

Louisiana Republicans, led by Gov. Jeff Landry, suspended congressional primaries and are redrawing maps after a Supreme Court ruling struck down the state's sixth district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander under the 14th Amendment, discarding over 45,000 early ballots to enable the changes. Black voters and Rep. Cleo Fields fear the move will dilute minority voting power protected by the Voting Rights Act, potentially eliminating Louisiana's sole Black-held congressional seat in a state with 30% Black population and no Black statewide officials since Reconstruction. The redistricting frenzy reflects a national partisan arms race, with experts warning of a more polarized Congress amid ongoing legal battles and protests.

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Chaos and protests broke out in state houses as Republicans and Democrats race to draw new congressional maps. The usually arcane process has become an unprecedented political free-for-all. At stake is control of Congress in November's midterm elections. With a razor-thin margin, both parties rush to draw new lines to tilt the House of Representatives in their favor. A landmark Supreme Court decision 11 days ago found a congressional map in Louisiana unconstitutional because legislators relied too heavily on race to draw the lines.

Louisiana's Republican governor and his party move to carve out new districts. Many Black voters fear their district will be wiped off the map.

I just don't understand why there is nobody able to stop this train. You see all the wrong. You see uh it's racist. You know it.

This past Monday, a packed house at the Galilee Baptist Church, the spiritual anchor to the west side of Shreveport where memories of Jim Crow run deep. Constituents lined up with questions about the fate of their congressional district. Their Democratic congressman, Cleo Fields, didn't have many answers.

Sometimes you get a setback to be set up. I mean, don't underestimate that power of the vote. That's what they are trying to take away.

Congressman Fields has served Louisiana for most of his life, first elected to the House of Representatives in 1992. He lost then won again in neverending redistricting battles. Now he could face another loss.

You believe this will not be your seat when and if this map is redrawn? I think it's highly unlikely. You have said this is not about you, your job, the seat that you hold. Personally, I'm just occupying the seat. And that's one of the things people get confused with when there's a voting rights seat created. It guarantees a black an election. No, it doesn't guarantee a black anything. It just gives a black an opportunity to win an election. And that's why they even passed the Voting Rights Act.

The 1965 Voting Rights Act was created to protect minority voting power in Louisiana, which has one of the highest percentages of Black residents in the country, about 30%. There has never been a Black politician elected to Congress in a district where whites are in the majority. The recent Supreme Court ruling virtually gutted the landmark legislation, but some say its time has passed.

Conservative African-Americans have praised the court's ruling as proof of real racial progress.

Oh, there is progress in the nation, but there is not progress in the southern part of our country to the extent that you should do away with the voting rights act. You tell those same folk to come here and run for office and get elected.

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Louisiana rushes to redraw congressional maps after Gov. Landry suspends primaries

Chaos in Redistricting After Supreme Court Ruling00:01

Protests at Galilee Baptist Church in Shreveport01:02

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