U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, announced he will not seek reelection after the Louisiana Legislature, backed by Republicans, redrew the congressional district he represented following a controversial US Supreme Court ruling.
Details on Louisiana’s redistricting of majority-Black districts and Rep. Fields’ next move
In a 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court ruled that the state’s congressional map relied too heavily on race in creating a second majority-Black district. Republicans then redrew Louisiana’s congressional map, eliminating the state’s second majority-Black district. The move could also give Republicans an edge in November’s midterm elections, according to Blavity, NOLA.com and The Associated Press.
On Tuesday, Fields confirmed his decision about the upcoming congressional election while announcing his next political move.
“After a great deal of prayer and reflection, I have decided not to seek re-election to Congress, in the 6th District or any other district in Louisiana. Instead, I will be running to fill the unexpired term for the State Senate in the 14th District. I feel my calling to serve the people is better put to use back home than here in D.C., and I intend to answer that call,” Fields said in a news release.
Supreme Court ruling prompted redistricting in Republican-led states
The Supreme Court’s decision prompted Republicans to officially eliminate Louisiana’s second majority-Black district, which Fields represented, in June. The move also prompted other Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps. The Supreme Court also ruled in an Alabama case that Republican lawmakers could use a 2023 congressional map that had previously been challenged as racially biased against Black voters, per Blavity.
“These events, along with legislators’ contemporaneous statements about race, support only one inference: the purpose of the 2023 Plan was to distribute Black voters across districts to dilute their votes, at least in part because they are Black,” the judges stated in their ruling.
Meanwhile, Fields’ decision to seek a return to the Louisiana State Senate comes after three previous stints in the chamber: 1988 to 1993, 1997 to 2008 and 2019 to 2024. He is running for the seat left vacant after his successor, Larry Selders, died earlier this month from a heart condition, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
