Louisiana Suspends House Primaries After Supreme Court Strikes Down Congressional Map as Racial Gerrymander
Primary region US
Tags Courts · Elections
Regions US
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry issued an executive order on April 30 suspending the state's closed party primaries for U.S. House races, previously scheduled for May 16, following the Supreme Court's April 29 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais declaring the state's congressional map an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The ruling is the first to find a map with two majority-Black districts unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause. Landry had already begun absentee voting before the suspension. The ruling could affect up to 12 majority-minority districts across the South.
Strategic interpretation
The Callais ruling weakens the Voting Rights Act's Section 2 as a tool for challenging racial gerrymanders and could trigger Republican-led redistricting pushbacks in Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee — potentially adding several GOP House seats before November. Voters have sued Landry in both state and federal court over the suspension, creating legal chaos in a cycle already marked by extreme polarization.