Louisiana House Speaker Phillip DeVillier has told legislators to keep their calendars open for a possible redistricting special session in late October or November. Lapoliticsweekly.com publisher Jeremy Alford says there are already constitutional questions about Louisiana’s current Congressional map and there’s also an effort to create more Republican seats.
“Governor Landry and the Republican leaders of the legislature, all of which have been to the White House lately, are now pushing forward to maybe bring Louisiana into that national fight on these congressional seats,” Alford said.
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on October 15th over whether Louisiana’s current Congressional boundaries are constitutional. The legislature created a second majority minority district last year, but opponents of the current map say politics, not race shaped the new boundaries.
Alford says if lawmakers seek to decide to redraw the Congressional map this fall, how will they reshape the two majority-minority districts.
“Do they target the Cleo Fields seat that stretches from Baton Rouge into other areas of the region, or do they look at New Orleans with Congressman Troy Carter?” Alford asked.
It’s not a guarantee that we will see a redistricting special session this fall, but Alford says if the Republican-led legislature goes through that difficult process again, it would be to redraw a map with one majority minority district, not two.
“It’s clear to me that if this is the route, that Republican leaders are going to be looking to get rid of one of those seats and put a Republican back,” Alford said.
