This Republican congressional seat will likely flip this election – Greater Baton Rouge Business Report

In a critical election year, Democrats are seeking to replace a once-trusted Republican congressional seat from Louisiana, where political boundaries were recently redrawn to form the state’s second-most black congressional district.

With five people on the ballot for Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District, Democrats have thrown their support behind longtime politician Cleo Fields, 61. The state senator has been involved in state politics for three decades and served two terms in Congress after being elected in 1992.

Across the aisle, Republicans are hoping to keep the seat, especially in an election year when the GOP is trying to hold on to its majority in the US House of Representatives. The only Republican on the ballot is former state Rep. Elbert Guillory, 80.

In nearly 50 years, only one Democrat has won the seat in Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District. But the boundaries of the district have recently been redrawn.

In January, state lawmakers passed Louisiana’s new congressional map with a second-majority black district, marking a victory for Democrats and civil rights groups after a legal battle and political tug-of-war that lasted nearly two years.

The new boundaries of the 6th District stretch across the state in a narrow and diagonal path, from the state capital of Baton Rouge to Shreveport in the northwest corner. Black residents made up 54% of his voters, up from 24% previously. Both Fields and Gillery are black.

A lower court ruled that the new card was an illegal racial spoofbut in May the Supreme Court ordered Louisiana to use it in this year’s congressional elections — boosting Democrats’ chances of gaining control of the closely divided chamber.

Louisiana’s six congressional seats are currently filled by one Democrat: U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, the state’s only black member of Congress.

A notable absence from the race is incumbent U.S. Rep. Garrett Graves. The white Republican has announced he won’t run for re-election, saying it doesn’t make sense to run under the new map.

All six of Louisiana’s congressional seats are up for election. The five other races feature incumbents, including two of the most powerful Republicans in the country — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

Also seeking re-election are Carter and Republicans Clay Higgins and Julia Letlow. All incumbents face lesser-known challengers on the ballot.