Louisiana GOP Gov. Jeff Landry told Republican House candidates Wednesday that he plans to suspend next month’s primary elections so state lawmakers can first pass a new congressional map, according to two people familiar with the calls.
The move came after a Supreme Court ruling earlier in the day found Louisiana had unlawfully relied on race when it created a second majority-Black congressional district under legal pressure. The decision could position Republicans to gain one or two seats in the midterms as they seek to protect their narrow House majority, the Washington Post reported.
The 6-3 ruling limited a key provision of the Voting Rights Act and could put other majority-Black, Democratic-held districts across the South at risk of being dismantled as a result. While many states are unlikely to redraw maps before the November midterm elections, Louisiana could be among the few that can move quickly.
Landry’s formal announcement suspending the May 16 primary could come as early as Friday, one day before early voting is scheduled to begin, according to people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, the Post said.
Louisiana had been ordered by lower federal courts to create a second majority-black congressional district in 2024 to comply with Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which bars states from diluting minority voting strength. The highly gerrymandered map stretched diagonally north and south across the state.
The Trump administration and state officials challenged the revised map, arguing it amounted to an unconstitutional racial gerrymander in violation of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law, reports said on Wednesday.
“If these were white Democrats, there’s no reason to think they would have a second district, none,” principal deputy solicitor general Hashim Mooppan told the high court during oral arguments in October.
“And so what is happening here is, their argument is, ‘Because these Democrats happen to be black, they get a second district.’ If they were all white, we all agree they wouldn’t get the same,” he added.
About one-third of Louisiana’s residents are African-American, and the state’s only two Democratic lawmakers in Congress (compared to four House Republicans) were elected from majority-black districts.
The justices initially addressed the Louisiana map case during the 2024-25 term. In an unusual move, they ordered both sides to restate their arguments to consider the implications of both the 14th and 15th Amendments. The 15th Amendment, in particular, prohibits states from denying citizens equal protection under the law or restricting their rights based on race.
The decision was widely interpreted as a signal that the Supreme Court was preparing to weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The ruling carries immense weight, with two prominent voting rights organizations noting earlier that the removal or restriction of Section 2 will likely empower Republican-led legislatures to change the boundaries of as many as 19 congressional districts to their advantage, in order to comply with the court.
“However, it’s not clear if red states will be able to seize on the Supreme Court’s decision in time to significantly impact the 2026 midterms, in which Democrats are favored to retake the House of Representatives,” the New York Post reported.
Chief Justice John Roberts, the author of the 2023 Allen v. Milligan ruling that requires the establishment of a second majority-Black district in Alabama, examined whether this framework is consistent with Allen and the Court’s Thornburg v. Gingles criteria.
The test mandates that plaintiffs demonstrate a minority group is not only sizable and cohesive but also experiences majority bloc voting that undermines their electoral candidates. Roberts appeared focused on aligning the proposal with established norms, steering clear of a complete transformation.