Dem
51
GOP
49
On Friday, the Republican-controlled Louisiana state legislature did the unthinkable: It complied with a federal court order to create a new congressional map with a second majority-Black district in it. Just about everywhere else in the South, when the courts have ordered new maps with more Black-majority seats, the legislatures have defied the courts and drawn new maps that are barely better than the ones ruled in violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Louisiana has six House seats. Thirty percent of the population is Black, so the math suggests there ought to be two Black-majority districts. But since the Republicans control the process, they don't want that because it will mean they will lose a seat. Considering how tight the House is now, every seat matters. Also surprising is that Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) is expected to sign the bill. This is the second seat the Democrats are likely to pick up on account of new maps. The other is in Alabama.
Mike Johnson personally intervened in the matter and urged the state Republicans to keep on fighting and not draw a new map in which the GOP will probably lose a seat. They refused to play ball because they were afraid if they didn't obey the court order, federal Judge Shelly Dick would hire a special master to draw the map and that might be even worse than the one they drew. The new map protects the seat of two important Republicans: Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise. A map Dick ordered drawn might not have protected them. (V)