Qualifying Opens for Louisiana’s Redistricted 6th Congressional District

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) attends an event in the East Room of the White House in Washington on May 26, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Candidates in Lousiana’s Sixth Congressional District can begin on July 17 to qualify to run in what is a newly represented area, thanks to redistricting that could determine the balance of the U.S. House come January.

The district has been in Republican hands since 2009 and represented since 2015 by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.). But redistricting makes this district favorable for Democrats given its majority of black voters, who overwhelmingly vote Democrat.

Mr. Graves, a close ally of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) who played a key role last year in negotiating the deal to increase the debt ceiling, announced last month he will not run for reelection.

“It is evident that a run in any temporary district will cause actual permanent damage to Louisiana’s great representation in Congress,” he said in a statement to media outlets, though he did not rule out a future run for Congress.

Louisiana state Sen. Cleo Fields, a former representative, will run for the Democratic candidacy against communications specialist Quentin Anderson, while former Louisiana state Sen. Elbert Guillory is running for the GOP nomination.

The primary will be on Nov. 5, which is also general election day, while the general will be on Dec. 7.

Mr. Anderson, a Louisiana State University law graduate, worked on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and has been a communications director for nonprofits.

Mr. Fields has served in the Louisiana Senate since January 2020 and was in the U.S. House between 1993 and 1997. He declined to run for reelection in 1996 as his district was redistricted. Mr. Fields also served in the Louisiana Senate between March 1988 and January 1993, and between December 1997 and January 2008.

Mr. Guillory served in the Louisiana Senate between May 2009 and January 2016 and in the Louisiana House of Representatives between January 2007 and January 2009.

As of June 29, Mr. Fields has the most cash on hand, with more than $643,000, while Mr. Anderson has just more than $2,000, according to the Federal Election Commission. Mr. Fields has raised more than $689,000, while Mr. Anderson has raised more than $17,000. No campaign finance information for Mr. Guillory is available.

The Supreme Court issued a stay in May, holding off for now an April federal court ruling that the state-approved map that included a second black-majority district violated the equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

“The predominate role of race in the State’s decisions is reflected in the statements of legislative decision-makers, the division of cities and parishes along racial lines, the unusual shape of the district, and the evidence that the contours of the district were drawn to absorb sufficient numbers of Black-majority neighborhoods to achieve the goal of a functioning majority-Black district,” wrote U.S. District Judges David C. Joseph and Robert R. Summerhays for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

In the dissenting opinion, Judge Carl E. Stewart wrote, “The totality of the record demonstrates that the Louisiana Legislature weighed various political concerns—including protecting of particular incumbents—alongside race, with no factor predominating over the other.”