Cleo Fields

U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields brought his redistricting road show to his hometown Thursday, urging residents to “vote like crazy” and to pack the Capitol for Friday's hearing on a redraw that could eliminate his seat in Congress.

“I think people need to show up and they need to voice their concerns,” he said. “Just your presence will help.”

The Thursday evening event, held at Baton Rouge Community College, was the fourth Fields conducted this week as part of his Redistricting Information Town Hall series, following meetings in Shreveport, Alexandria and Lafayette. Turnout was modest; the mood was not.

“Our democracy is crumbling,” Fields said. “It's going to take good people like you to put it back together.”

Fields' 6th Congressional District was at the center of Louisiana v. Callais, a landmark Supreme Court ruling that civil rights advocates say dismantles protections outlined in the Voting Rights Act of 1965. On April 29, the court ruled 6-3 that the district — a narrow corridor linking majority-Black communities from Baton Rouge through Alexandria and Lafayette to Shreveport — was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

The ruling prompted Gov. Jeff Landry to suspend the state's congressional primaries, despite early voting already being underway. Landry and fellow Republicans, including Attorney General Liz Murrill, argue the Court’s decision requires the state to redraw its maps ahead of the May 16 primaries.

The Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a redistricting hearing at 9 a.m. on Friday to begin the process of drawing Louisiana’s district maps again.

Fields described Gov. Landry’s decisions as “unconstitutional” and “unconscionable.” Multiple groups have since filed lawsuits against the last-minute redrawing, including Louisiana’s Legislative Black Caucus.

“We’re going to continue to fight,” said State Rep. Edmond Jordan, who chairs the caucus and spoke at the event.

If the decision is upheld, the state legislature would likely remake Fields' district and possibly Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District — the state's other majority-Black seat, represented by Troy Carter of New Orleans.

The two districts are the likeliest of Louisiana's six to send a Democrat to Washington. A redraw could help Republicans hold their slim House majority in this year's midterms. Fields voiced opposition to redrawing his fellow Democrat’s district.

“The Supreme Court didn’t say a thing about the Second Congressional District,” he said.

During early voting last Saturday, signs posted at several ballot locations told voters that congressional primary votes would not be counted. Yet Fields encouraged Baton Rouge residents to vote the full ticket anyway, warning that if the courts overturn Landry's suspension, those who skipped the congressional races may not get another chance.

“There's nothing you're losing if you vote the whole ballot, but there is something you lose if you don’t,” he said.

Metro Councilmembers Twahna Harris (District 7) and Carolyn Coleman (District 10) both spoke at the Thursday event. They joined Fields in characterizing the court decision and ensuing redistricting battles — currently underway in several other states — as a step back for civil rights and equal representation.

“This is at the congressman's level now, but it's going to come to the state levels, and its going to ease its way to the local level,” said Coleman.

On Thursday, Tennessee Republicans passed a new congressional map that would split Shelby County — where majority-black Memphis lies — into three different districts in an effort to eliminate the state’s only Democratic congressional seat. Democratic state legislators in California, Utah and Virginia are also attempting to redraw congressional maps to favor their party ahead of the midterms.

This isn’t the first time Fields has watched his district change drastically while in office. He first served in Congress from 1993 to 1997, representing a former version of Louisiana's 4th Congressional District — another majority-Black district that zigzagged from Shreveport to Baton Rouge. The Supreme Court struck it down as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander in 1995, the same year Fields ran unsuccessfully for governor.

Fields was elected to his current seat in November 2024, after lower courts found that Louisiana's post-2020 census maps violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voting power and ordered the state to draw the second majority-Black district.

“The Supreme Court today might not be the Supreme Court of tomorrow,” Fields said. “The President today might not be the President of tomorrow.”