Louisiana Democrat Cleo Fields reveals political future after SCOTUS approved redistricting

Fields was among several Black representatives in the state who saw their districts become Republican leaning ones thanks to the Supreme Court decision that gutted parts of the Voting Rights Act

Weeks after a GOP-led redistricting charge flipped his seat to one in a primarily Republican voting bloc, Cleo Fields (D-La.) announced that he would not seek re-election for a second term in the House of Representatives and instead would focus his attention on winning a state Senate seat in Louisiana.

“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,” the 63-year-old Fields said in a statement. “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’ current district stretches diagonally from northwest to southeast Louisiana. Still, the Supreme Court’s April decision in Louisiana v. Callais regarding the Voting Rights Act paved the way for the GOP-led Louisiana state house to gerrymander his district. The ruling came in contrast to a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that originally pushed Louisiana lawmakers to create a second Black-majority House district in the state after the Court struck down a previous Alabama map, which had only one Black-majority House district.

In June, the Court ruled that Alabama could use a map that generally favored Republicans for the upcoming midterm elections.

Last October, President Trump issued a mandate to GOP-led states to gerrymander districts to shore up votes for future elections. It prompted a rash of redistricting across several states, prompting Democratic leaders in Democratic-led states also to draw new maps that favored their constituents.

According to The Hill, Republicans are poised to add seats in Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Hopeful candidates to replace Fields in Louisiana have until August 7 to file as a candidate.