Louisiana’s state Senate on Thursday approved a new congressional district map for the 2026 midterm elections. The chamber voted 27-10 to adopt a map that would eliminate one of Louisiana’s two Democratic-held U.S. House districts.

The proposed map will now be sent to the Louisiana House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a two-thirds majority. Under the new plan, Pointe Coupee Parish was removed from District 5 and added to District 6. St. Landry Parish is split among the third, fifth, and sixth districts. Additionally, Tangipahoa Parish will see its northern portion assigned to District 5 and the southern portion to District 1.

District 2, Louisiana’s sole majority-Black congressional district with a population center in Orleans Parish, remains largely unchanged. The seat is currently held by U.S. Representative Troy Carter, a New Orleans Democrat.

“I drew it in a way that would help Representative Carter maintain his incumbency,” state Senator Jay Morris said Thursday. “It would help Republicans, in a way, by concentrating more Democratic-leaning voters in that district.”

Morris stated that following the Supreme Court’s recent decision prohibiting redistricting plans based on race, Louisiana is legally required to create a new map. The state had suspended its congressional primaries after this ruling. In a joint statement last month, Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill noted: “Yesterday’s historic Supreme Court victory for Louisiana has an immediate consequence for the State. The Supreme Court previously stayed an injunction against the State’s enforcement of the current Congressional map. By the Court’s order, however, that stay automatically terminated with yesterday’s decision. Accordingly, the State is currently enjoined from carrying out congressional elections under the current map. We are working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward.”

Democratic lawmakers, civil rights advocates, and voting rights organizations have criticized the proposed map for diluting the electoral power of Black residents, who constitute about one-third of Louisiana’s population. They argue that the new map would likely result in Republicans winning five of the state’s six districts in November.

“This Senate should seek to support a map that gives everyone a voice,” Democratic state Senator Katrina Jackson-Andrews said on the Senate floor Thursday.

Republicans, including bill sponsor Jay Morris, contend the map was drawn solely for partisan advantage rather than racial considerations. They also note that the current map—featuring majority-Black districts centered in New Orleans and Baton Rouge—was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court for relying too heavily on race when drawing district lines.