Congressional map with only one majority Black district heads to Louisiana governor's desk

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:04]LET’S GET BACK TO OUR BREAKING NEWS.

[00:00:06]THE SENATE PASSED A BILL.

[00:00:08]IT’S GOING TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK TO BE SIGNED THAT SENATOR JAY MORRIS FROM WEST MONROE, THE ARCHITECT OF THE BILL SHRINKING TWO BLACK DISTRICTS TO ONE.

[00:00:15]LET’S HEAR HIM LIVE HERE AT THE CAPITOL.

[00:00:18]I’M GRATIFIED THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE SENATE CONCURRED IN THE HOUSE AMENDMENTS, AND IT’S HEADED TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK.

[00:00:25]AND THIS WHOLE DEBATE SEEMS TO BE OVER FOR NOW.

[00:00:28]AND SO I’M HAPPY ABOUT THE RESULT.

[00:00:31]YOU HAD HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE COME OUT IN PROTEST AGAINST THIS BILL, SHARE PUBLIC TESTIMONY.

[00:00:37]DID YOU TAKE ANYTHING AWAY FROM THAT?

[00:00:39]WELL, I KNOW A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF THE STATE IS NOT FOR THIS BILL.

[00:00:45]I GET THAT, BUT THE VAST MAJORITY ARE, AS EVIDENCED BY THEIR REPRESENTATIVES VOTES BOTH IN THE HOUSE AND SENATE.

[00:00:53]SO, AS I STATED A MOMENT AGO, THE THE GREEKS INVENTED DEMOCRACY IN WHICH IS THE MAJORITY RULES AND AND THE MAP AT LEAST SOMEWHAT SIMILAR TO THIS, AND I THINK IT WILL BE APPROVED.

[00:01:06]SO MUCH CONVERSATION HAS SURROUNDED RACE AND PARTY.

[00:01:09]AND WHETHER THOSE ARE SYNONYMOUS IN LOUISIANA.

[00:01:11]IS IT YOUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY ARE OR THEY AREN’T?

[00:01:15]IT WOULD BE SAD IF RACE AND PARTY WERE SYNONYMOUS.

[00:01:20]THEY’RE NOT.

[00:01:22]ALTHOUGH ADMITTEDLY MORE AFRICAN AMERICANS ARE DEMOCRATS THESE DAYS.

[00:01:28]BUT WE JUST CAN’T LOOK AT THAT.

[00:01:32]WE HAVE TO LOOK PAST THAT.

[00:01:35]AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU’LL NOTICE, THE PROPONENTS OF THE BILL LIKE ME, WE NEVER TALKED ABOUT RACE.

[00:01:43]IT’S ONLY THE PEOPLE THAT ARE OPPOSED TO IT THAT TALKED ABOUT RACE AND ALL OF THOSE IN THE LEGISLATURE WHO WERE HERE TWO YEARS AGO.

[00:01:54]VOTED FOR A MAP THAT WAS RACIALLY GERRYMANDERED AND WAS DECLARED SO BY THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.

[00:02:00]AND IT’S A LITTLE DISINGENUOUS TO TRY TO CLAIM THAT THIS MAP IS RACIALLY GERRYMANDERED, WHEN THEY CLEARLY VOTED FOR ONE THAT WAS RACIALLY GERRYMANDERED AND SO HELD BY THE HIGHEST COURT IN THE LAND.

[00:02:13]SENATOR, ON THE FLOOR TODAY, YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW YOU EXPECT THAT THERE’S GOING TO BE SOME LITIGATION COMING OUT OF THIS.

[00:02:20]DO YOU THINK THE MAP PASSED TODAY?

[00:02:22]ARE YOU CONFIDENT THAT IT COULD STAND UP IN COURT?

[00:02:24]I’M CONFIDENT.

[00:02:25]I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ALWAYS BE WRONG.

[00:02:28]YOU NEVER KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE COURT’S GOING TO DO.

[00:02:31]BUT THE SUPREME COURT, IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE CALAIS DECISION, GAVE TACIT APPROVAL TO THE 22 2022 MAPS THAT THIS MAP IS BASED ON.

[00:02:41]SO, SO CONSIDERING THAT, I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULD THE COURTS WOULD ULTIMATELY RULE THIS MAP IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

[00:02:47]AS FAR AS NEXT STEPS GO, HAVE YOU SPOKEN WITH THAT IS STATE SENATOR JAY MORRIS, THE REPUBLICAN FROM WEST MONROE, WHO WAS THE AUTHOR OF THE BILL.

[00:02:56]JUST TO BRING YOU UP TO SPEED, THAT IS LOUISIANA’S NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP.

[00:03:00]IF THE GOVERNOR SIGNS IT, AS HE IS EXPECTED TO DO INTO LAW SOMETIME BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON, THE SESSION HAS TO END ON MONDAY.

[00:03:07]IT WOULD SHRINK THE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS, THE BLACK MAJORITY CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS, FROM TWO DOWN TO ONE IN YELLOW.

[00:03:12]THERE ON THE MAP, TROY CARTER’S EXISTING DISTRICT WOULD BE THE LONE MAJORITY BLACK DISTRICT IN THE STATE.

[00:03:18]THE SENATE GAVE IT FULL PASSAGE, 28 TO 10, GOING RIGHT DOWN PARTY LINES.

[00:03:22]ALYSSA GOMEZ IS LIVE.