Louisiana Rep. Cleo Fields won’t seek reelection after Democrat’s seat was redrawn

Rep. Cleo Fields, D-La., center, speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields said Tuesday he would not seek reelection to his redrawn Louisiana congressional district that was at the center of a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling on race and redistricting.The majority Black congressional district was redrawn by the state legislature in May to favor Republicans in November’s midterm elections. A month earlier, the Supreme Court ruled that Fields’ district relied too heavily on race and was an “unconstitutional gerrymander.”“After a great deal of prayer and reflection, I have decided not to seek reelection, to Congress, in the 6th District or any other district in Louisiana,” Fields said. Fields, who a longtime fixture in Louisiana politics, said he would instead seek a seat in the state Senate.The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the map favoring Fields’ district escalated a nationwide redistricting battle, largely fueled by President Donald Trump’s efforts to protect Republicans in the midterm elections. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that Alabama could use a map that favored Republicans in this year’s elections. Louisiana Republicans had considered drawing a map this year that would have given the party a shot at winning all six of the state’s U.S. House seats. But that would have required adding more registered Democrats to Republican-held districts, potentially backfiring with GOP losses.The new map renews Fields’ district to cluster it around predominantly white communities in the Baton Rouge area and southern Louisiana. 4 MIN READ 3 MIN READ 2 MIN READ Fields had previously served two terms in the U.S. House from 1993 to 1997 and was the state’s second Black member of Congress in Louisiana. ___ Wilder is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.