Louisiana suspends House primaries after Supreme Court redistricting ruling

Louisiana suspended its House primaries Thursday after the Supreme Court struck down its current map.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order delaying the House races until July 15 — “or until such time as determined by the legislature.” The elections had been scheduled for May 16, with a June 27 run-off date.

Early voting is expected to begin Saturday, and officials clarified that all other contests, including the state’s contentious GOP Senate primary, will proceed as normal.

In a statement, the governor said using the current maps would “undermine the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our voters.”

“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,” he added.

Landry on Wednesday had told House Republican candidates he was planning to suspend the elections, according to a person familiar with the conversations, granted anonymity to share private details. Landry’s decision was first reported by the Washington Post.

The governor told candidates in phone calls that he would make the delay official on Friday and mentioned potentially using emergency executive power to pause the elections, according to the person.

It’s a legally risky gambit on a very tight timeline. The state legislature is in recess until next week.

President Donald Trump on Thursday celebrated state officials’ decision to swiftly reconfigure Louisiana’s map — the latest success in his longtime push to redistrict Republican-led states in his party’s favor, which began in Texas last year.

“Thank you to the Great Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, for his leadership on the very important Callais case, and for moving so quickly to fix the Unconstitutionality of Louisiana’s Congressional Maps,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform. “He has shown tremendous Vision, Strength, and Leadership. Thank you Jeff, keep up the GREAT work!”

Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Thursday that he supported delaying his home state’s primary elections following the Supreme Court’s order.

“The governor has no choice but to suspend it,” Johnson said. “The court has ruled our map unconstitutional.” In lieu of another round of primaries, Johnson suggested the state should instead hold an all-party “jungle” election in November, with a run-off in December.

“All states that have unconstitutional maps should look at that very carefully, and I think they should do it before the midterms,” he added.

The Supreme Court’s decision to weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has set off a scramble across various southern Republican-led states, with top candidates and party chairs from Georgia to Tennessee calling for special sessions to dismantle majority-minority districts. Still, it will be difficult for the party to push through more maps ahead of the midterms.