Louisiana congressional primaries are suspended as a result of the
Supreme Court's ruling
[May 01, 2026]
By SARA CLINE, JACK BROOK and DAVID A. LIEB
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana suspended its congressional primaries
Thursday as early voting was about to get underway, while pressure
mounted on Republican officials in other states to redraw their U.S.
House maps in light of a Supreme Court ruling that significantly
weakened the Voting Rights Act.
Early voting had been scheduled to begin Saturday for Louisiana's May 16
primaries. But Republican Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order
postponing the U.S. House primary in response to a ruling Wednesday by
the court that struck down a majority Black congressional district.
“Allowing elections to proceed under an unconstitutional map would
undermine the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our
voters,” Landry stated. “This executive order ensures we uphold the rule
of law while giving the Legislature the time it needs to pass a fair and
lawful congressional map.”
The Republican-controlled secretary of state's office, which declared an
electoral emergency allowing for Landry's order, said it would post
notices at early voting sites alerting the public about the suspended
congressional primary. All other races on the ballot will proceed as
scheduled.
The Supreme Court decision and Landry's move triggered a flurry of
follow-up legal action. On Thursday night, the three-judge federal
appeals court panel that heard the initial case that was appealed to the
high court issued a brief order suspending Louisiana's House election
until new maps are drawn — a move some legal experts said was premature.
Marc Elias, a prominent Democratic election attorney, announced the
filing of a lawsuit challenging Landry's order.
The governor's order postponed the congressional primary until either
July 15 or a date to be set by the Legislature. The state's Republican
House and Senate leaders said they are prepared to pass new
congressional voting districts — and set a new election date — before
their regular session ends in a month.
President Donald Trump used his social media platform to praise Landry,
who also is his special envoy to Greenland, for moving quickly to revise
the state's congressional districts. He also urged Republicans in
Tennessee to do likewise in response to the Supreme Court's decision.
Democrats say the delay could cause confusion
While civil rights activists denounced the potential for diminished
minority representation in Congress, top Republicans cited the Supreme
Court's decision as justification to spur an already intense national
redistricting battle among states before the November elections.
“I think all states who have unconstitutional maps should look at that
very carefully, and I think they should do it before the midterm,” House
Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters in Washington.
The election suspension in Louisiana was denounced by some Democrats.
“This is going to cause mass confusion among voters -- Democrats,
Republicans, white, Black, everybody,” said Louisiana state Sen. Royce
Duplessis, a Democrat who represents the New Orleans area. “What they’re
effectively doing is changing the rules of the game in the middle of the
game. It’s rigging the system.”
Delaying an election is unusual but not unprecedented.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, several states pushed back
elections because of health concerns. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards,
who led Louisiana at the time, postponed the state's April 4
presidential primary three weeks before it was supposed to occur — then
delayed it again until July 11.
More states could join a national redistricting wave
Louisiana currently is represented in the U.S. House by four Republicans
and two Democrats. A revised map could give Republicans a chance to pick
up at least one more seat in the November midterms — adding to
Republican gains elsewhere from redistricting.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and members of the
Congressional Black Caucus speak to reporters in the wake of the
Supreme Court ruling to strike down a majority Black congressional
district in Louisiana, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday,
April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each
census. But Trump last year urged Texas Republicans to redraw House
districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterms. California
Democrats reciprocated, and redistricting efforts soon cascaded
across states.
On Wednesday, Florida lawmakers became the latest to redraw U.S.
House districts, adopting a new map backed by Republican Gov. Ron
DeSantis that could give the GOP a chance at winning several
additional seats.
The Florida vote occurred just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court's
conservative majority issued a ruling that significantly weakened
minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act. The court
said Louisiana officials had relied too heavily on race when drawing
a congressional district that is represented by Democrat Cleo
Fields.
Trump said he wants Tennessee to take up redistricting in response
to the court's ruling. The president posted on social media that he
had spoken with the state's Republican governor, Bill Lee, who he
said would work hard for a new map that could help Republicans gain
an additional seat. Democrats currently hold only one of the state's
nine House seats — a district centered in Memphis, which is majority
Black.
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, said he is in
conversations with the White House and others while reviewing the
court's decision.
Louisiana has a history of redistricting challenges
After the 2020 census, Louisiana officials had drawn House voting
district boundaries that maintained one Black majority district and
five mostly white districts, in a state with a population that is
about one-third Black. A federal judge later struck down the map for
violating the Voting Rights Act.
The following year, the Supreme Court found that Alabama had to
create a second congressional district that would be favorable to
Black voters.
Federal judges permanently barred Alabama from using a congressional
map drawn by state lawmakers and ordered the use of a plan that
added a second district with a substantial number of Black voters.
On Thursday, Alabama filed an emergency motion with the Supreme
Court seeking an expedited review of its appeal. The state is
seeking to lift the injunction blocking the use of the 2023 map
drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature that did not include
the new district.
Louisiana’s legislature and governor adopted a new House map in 2024
that created a second Black majority district. But that map also was
subsequently challenged in court, leading to the most recent Supreme
Court ruling.
After the ruling, Landry called U.S. House candidates on Wednesday
and told them that primaries would most likely be stalled, according
to Misti Cordell, a Republican running in a crowded race to fill
U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow’s vacated seat.
“It’s an inconvenience for a candidate for sure, but you know they
want to do it right versus having to go through all this again,”
Cordell said. She added that she appreciated the heads up before she
and other candidates began “spending their war chest” during the
final weeks leading up to Election Day.
___
Brook reported from New Orleans and Lieb reported from Jefferson
City, Missouri. AP reporter Travis Loller contributed from
Nashville.
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