The Louisiana Senate on Thursday moved to dismantle the state’s short-lived dual-majority-Black congressional districts, passing a new map that effectively restores a Republican-dominated 5-1 split. While the shift carries profound racial implications, GOP leadership is framing the move through a specific legal loophole: partisan advantage.
The “Political” Workaround
The legislation, Senate Bill 121, was sponsored by Senator Jay Morris (R-West Monroe). In his presentation to the chamber, Morris leaned heavily into the semantic distinction between race and party affiliation. While the U.S. Supreme Court has recently tightened restrictions on using race as a primary factor in redistricting, it has historically allowed for “partisan gerrymandering.”
Under this logic, Republicans are avoiding terminology regarding “Black districts” and instead focusing on “Democratic-leaning districts.” However, in Louisiana, where the vast majority of Black voters are registered Democrats, the two terms function as functional synonyms. Eliminating a Democratic seat is, in practice, the elimination of a seat where Black voters have the power to elect their candidate of choice.
Senator Morris was candid about this strategic consolidation:
“I did draw it in a way that would help Representative [Troy] Carter maintain his incumbency. It would help Republicans, in a way, by concentrating more Democratic-leaning voters in that district.”
By packing Democratic voters—who are overwhelmingly Black—into Congressman Carter’s 2nd District (anchored in New Orleans), the GOP-led Senate effectively “bleached” the surrounding 6th District, turning it back into a Republican stronghold.
Strategic Silence on Race
Throughout the debate, Republican lawmakers have meticulously scrubbed racial language from their arguments to avoid further litigation. Senate President Cameron Henry (R-Metairie) noted that the primary goal is to “stop being sued,” believing that a map defended on the basis of “politics” rather than “race” offers the greatest legal protection under the current Supreme Court climate.
