On April 30, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry suspended the state’s U.S. House primaries, halting an election that was set to begin early voting two days later. The executive order came one day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a majority-Black congressional district in the state, ruling that Louisiana officials had relied too heavily on race when drawing the district. The ruling significantly weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act and prompted Republican leaders across the country to push for new redistricting efforts before the November midterms.
Landry said the suspension was necessary to preserve the integrity of the electoral system. “Allowing elections to proceed under an unconstitutional map would undermine the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our voters,” he said in a statement. “This executive order ensures we uphold the rule of law while giving the Legislature the time it needs to pass a fair and lawful congressional map.”
The Republican-controlled secretary of state’s office declared an electoral emergency to enable Landry’s order, and said it would post notices at early voting sites to alert the public that the congressional primary was postponed. All other races on the ballot, including state and local contests, will proceed as scheduled.
The decision set off a cascade of legal maneuvering. Late Thursday, the three-judge federal appeals court panel that originally heard the case issued a brief order suspending Louisiana’s House election until new maps are drawn — a move some legal experts described as premature. Meanwhile, Democratic election attorney Marc Elias filed a lawsuit challenging Landry’s order.
Landry, who also serves as President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, postponed the congressional primary until July 15 or a date to be set by the Legislature. Republican legislative leaders said they are prepared to draw new districts and set a new election date before the current session ends in a month.
President Trump praised Landry’s move on social media and urged other Republican-controlled states to follow suit. “I think all states who have unconstitutional maps should look at that very carefully, and I think they should do it before the midterm,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters in Washington. Trump specifically called on Tennessee to take up redistricting; Republican Governor Bill Lee said he would work for a new map, according to Trump’s social media post. Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said he is in talks with the White House while reviewing the court’s decision.
The Supreme Court’s ruling has accelerated a national redistricting fight. On Wednesday, hours before the ruling was issued, Florida lawmakers adopted a new congressional map backed by Governor Ron DeSantis that could help Republicans gain seats. Redistricting battles have already roiled Texas and California, and Louisiana’s suspension is the latest escalation.
Louisiana has a history of voting-rights litigation. After the 2020 census, the state’s map included one majority-Black district and five predominantly white districts in a state where roughly one-third of residents are Black. A federal judge struck down that map, and in 2024, the legislature and Governor Landry created a second majority-Black district. But that map was challenged in court and ultimately invalidated by Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision.
The ruling also had ripple effects in Alabama, which has been fighting a similar redistricting order. On Thursday, Alabama filed an emergency motion with the Supreme Court seeking expedited review of an injunction that blocks the state from using a map without a second majority-Black district.
Democrats condemned the suspension as an act of confusion and voter suppression. “This is going to cause mass confusion among voters — Democrats, Republicans, white, Black, everybody,” said state Senator Royce Duplessis, a New Orleans Democrat. “What they’re effectively doing is changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game. It’s rigging the system.”
The suspension is unusual but not unprecedented. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, then-Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, postponed Louisiana’s presidential primary three weeks before it was set to occur, eventually delaying it until July.
Among candidates, reaction was mixed. Misti Cordell, a Republican running in a crowded field for the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, said Landry called candidates on Wednesday to warn them. “It’s an inconvenience for a candidate for sure, but you know they want to do it right versus having to go through all this again,” Cordell said. She said she appreciated the heads-up before spending campaign funds in the final weeks.