By Joseph Ax
May 14 (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled Louisiana Senate on Thursday passed a new congressional map that eliminates one of the state's two Democratic-held, majority-Black U.S. House districts, paving the way for Republicans to pick up an additional seat in November's midterm elections.
The map, which was approved 27-10 along party lines, will next head to the state House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a more than two-thirds majority.
Louisiana is among several Republican-led
Southern states that have raced to redraw their congressional maps after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision two weeks ago that severely weakened protections for districts with significant minority populations. Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina have all either split up Democratic districts or taken steps to do so.
REDISTRICTING BOOST FOR REPUBLICANS
The new round of redistricting is part of a broader national fight that is likely to give Republicans a major boost as they seek to preserve a narrow majority in this fall’s election, though Democrats are still seen as favored to win the House given President Donald Trump's sagging approval ratings.
Republican Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry suspended the congressional primary elections a day after the Supreme Court decision and only two days before early in-person voting was set to begin. Thousands of absentee ballots had already been returned by mail.
Democratic lawmakers, civil rights activists and voting rights advocates have criticized the proposed map for diluting the electoral power of Black residents, who make up about one-third of the state’s population. 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 from the Senate floor on Thursday.
Republicans, including the bill's sponsor, state Senator Jay Morris, said the map was drawn solely for partisan advantage, rather than along racial lines.
The current map, which includes majority-Black districts centered in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, which found lawmakers relied too heavily on race in crafting the lines.
The new map includes only a single Democratic district that connects the two cities, which could pit the two Democratic incumbent U.S. representatives, Troy Carter and Cleo Fields, against one another.
(Reporting by Joseph AxEditing by Rod Nickel)
