Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields said Tuesday he would not seek reelection to his redrawn Louisiana congressional district that was at the center of a on race and redistricting.
The majority Black congressional district in May to favor Republicans in November’s midterm elections. A month earlier, the Supreme Court ruled that relied too heavily on race and was an 鈥渦nconstitutional gerrymander.鈥�
鈥淎fter 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, who a longtime fixture in Louisiana politics, said he would instead seek a seat in the state Senate.
The Supreme Court鈥檚 decision to strike down the map favoring Fields’ district escalated , largely fueled by President Donald Trump鈥檚 efforts to protect Republicans in the midterm elections.
In June, the Supreme Court could use a map that favored Republicans in this year鈥檚 elections.
Louisiana Republicans drawing a map this year that would have given the party a shot at winning all six of the state鈥檚 U.S. House seats. But that would have required adding more registered Democrats to Republican-held districts, potentially backfiring with GOP losses.
The new map renews Fields鈥� district to cluster it around predominantly white communities in the Baton Rouge area and southern Louisiana.
Fields had previously served two terms in the U.S. House from 1993 to 1997 and was the state’s second Black member of Congress in Louisiana. ___ Wilder is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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