Congress map that moves Lincoln passes
The Legislature passed this congressional district map Friday. Among many other things it moves Lincoln Parish from the 5th district, represented by Julia Letlow, to the 4th district, represented by current Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
It appears extremely likely that Lincoln Parish residents will be voting on the reelection of U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson this fall.
Both chambers of the Louisiana Legislature gave final approval to a redistricting map Friday that, among many other things, shifts all of Lincoln Parish from the 5th congressional district, currently held by Julia Letlow, to Johnson’s 4th district in northwest Louisiana.
Senate Bill 8 now only requires Gov. Jeff Landry’s signature, and since he has openly supported the proposal, that signature is likely to come soon.
The Legislature held a special session this week, its first session under Landry, specifically to address a federal court order that lawmakers must either redraw the voter map passed in 2022 to include two majority- Black districts or else face a trial over the legality of the previous version.
Landry, as well as the majority of both Republican and Democrat legislators, preferred a new map to a trial.
Out of several proposals from both parties, the Landrybacked SB8 is the one that made it out alive, passing the Senate 2711 two separate times and the House 86-16.
Lincoln Parish’s delegation was split on the map. Both House members — Republican Rep. Chris Turner and Democrat Rep. Rashid Young — voted for it, as did Democrat Sen. Jay Luneau.
But the other two senators who represents parts of Lincoln Parish — Sen. Jay Morris and Sen. Stewart Cathey, both of Monroe — voted against it.
“What we’re doing to north Louisiana with this map is a travesty,” Cathey said in Senate debate Friday.
Morris and Cathey opposed the way SB8 splits Ouachita Parish between two congressional districts and sends Lincoln Parish to Johnson’s northwest district, rather than Letlow’s in the northeastern part of the state.
“Shouldn’t we have included Louisiana Tech and Ouachita Parish in the northeast Louisiana congressional district?” Morris asked on the Senate floor Wednesday.
Morris suggested the map passed in 2022, which included just one majority-Black district, should proceed to trial.
That’s also Johnson’s preference, according to a social media post he made earlier this week.
Authored by Sen. Glen Womack, R- Harrisonburg, SB8 reportedly satisfies the federal court order by turning congressional District 6 into a long, snake-like structure that winds from parts of Caddo Parish down to East Baton Rouge Parish.
In so doing, the map makes District 6 the state’s second majority-Black district.
In defending the bill, Womack made clear that its priorities were to “preserve (GOP) political interests,” that is, defending certain Republican representatives.
“The boundaries in the bill I’m proposing ensure Congresswoman Letlow remains both unpaired with any other incumbent and in a congressional district which should continue to elect a Republican to Congress for the remainder of this decade,” Womack said.
He said protecting Johnson and GOP Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise were the secondary goals.
In his disagreement with the map, Morris specifically complained that Letlow’s district would include LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge but not Joe Aillet Stadium at Louisiana Tech, even though Letlow’s home is much closer to Tech than LSU.
