Republican U.S. House of Representative Garret Graves of Baton Rouge publicly spoke for the first time today since announcing he will not seek a sixth term in Congress after a new map (pictured) dramatically changes the sixth district he currently represents. Graves said he was thinking about running for either District Six or District Two, but ultimately, “it’s not fair to the constituents, to the citizens of this state. We [Graves and his team] couldn’t maintain the same level of performance as we’re doing right now, and it just doesn’t make sense for us to even try that.”
The congressional district map that was approved by the U.S. Supreme Court last month creates two new majority-Black districts by redrawing some districts, including stretching District Six from Caddo to East Baton Rouge Parish. Graves said that’s unfair to those he’s represented since 2014.
“It’s a real disservice, these new maps, to the capital region,” he said. “The only silver lining is that I continue to be very optimistic that these maps will be thrown out.”
Graves said the decision not to run again was difficult but necessary. He doesn’t think any representative will be able to fairly represent the needs of all the different areas in the new District Six, which extends from Shreveport to Baton Rouge. In fact, Graves says he plans to take a break from politics altogether.
“Look, I’m not gonna say never,” he said when asked if he would return to the House, “but I’m really excited about the opportunity to unplug, to level set.”
Congressional elections will be held on November 5th using the new districts.
