Rep. Cleo Fields said he will not seek re-election to his redrawn Louisiana congressional seat after the U.S. Supreme Court found the district to be an "unconstitutional gerrymander." Fields announced he will run for the state Senate instead. The legislature's May redraw shifts the district toward predominantly white Baton Rouge-area communities, part of a larger national fight over politically charged redistricting.
Rep. Cleo Fields Won't Seek Re-Election After SCOTUS-Contested Louisiana District Is Redrawn
FILE - Rep. Cleo Fields, D-La., center, speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election to his redrawn Louisiana congressional seat, which was the focus of a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling on race and redistricting.
The majority-Black district was reshaped by the state legislature in May in a move critics say favors Republicans ahead of November's midterm elections. The Supreme Court had earlier found that the district relied too heavily on race and described it as an "unconstitutional gerrymander."
"After a great deal of prayer and reflection, I have decided not to seek reelection, to Congress, in the 6th District or any other district in Louisiana," Fields said.
Fields, a long‑time figure in Louisiana politics and a former two-term member of the U.S. House (1993–1997), said he will instead run for a seat in the state Senate.
Broader Impact
The court's ruling tied to Fields' district has intensified a nationwide battle over redistricting and voting maps. In a related decision this year, the Supreme Court allowed an Alabama congressional map to remain in place despite arguments it favored Republican candidates.
Louisiana Republicans had considered more aggressive redraws this cycle that might have given the party a shot at winning all six of the state's U.S. House seats. Those plans risked shifting registered Democrats into Republican-held districts — a strategy that could produce unpredictable results.
Under the newly approved Louisiana map, Fields' district is reconfigured to cluster around predominantly white communities in the Baton Rouge area and parts of southern Louisiana, changing the district's demographic and political makeup.
Fields was Louisiana's second Black member of Congress. He previously represented the state in the U.S. House for two terms in the 1990s.
Reporting note: Wilder is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover underreported issues.
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