Louisiana holds Senate primary while House races remain suspended

Louisiana voters went to the polls on May 16, 2026, for a partial federal primary. The Senate Republican primary between incumbent Bill Cassidy, Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow, and former state Treasurer John Fleming proceeded as scheduled. All six U.S. House primary races remained frozen, still listed on ballots but with .

Secretary of State Nancy Landry confirmed that House candidates' names would appear on the May 16 ballot but that any marks next to those names would be void. Poll workers were instructed to inform voters their House selections wouldn't count.

Governor Jeff Landry signed on April 30, suspending the closed party primaries for all six U.S. House seats. The order cited Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 18, Section 401.1, a provision originally written for natural disasters like hurricanes.

Landry issued the order one day after the Supreme Court's April 29 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. He stated that allowing elections under an unconstitutional map would . Michael Li, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, argued the emergency statute was never intended to cancel federal elections due to court rulings, noting that the should have prevented mid-cycle changes.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on April 29, 2026, in Louisiana v. Callais that the state's 2024 congressional map (SB 8) constituted an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. The opinion held that compliance with Section 2 of the 📖Voting Rights Act the state's race-based 📖redistricting.

The ruling significantly narrowed the circumstances under which states can draw majority-minority districts, requiring evidence of a before Section 2 compels race-conscious map-drawing.

More than 42,000 Louisiana voters cast absentee ballots for House races before the suspension took effect. The Secretary of State's office had , a full month before the governor's order. Early voting had been set to begin two days after the 📖executive order.

Gov. Landry dismissed the discarded ballots in a , calling it "not a big deal." The state legislature's 📖redistricting bill formally voided all previously cast House primary ballots.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, ACLU, and League of Women Voters of Louisiana filed an on May 1, arguing the governor lacked authority to suspend an election already underway. Three individual voters joined as plaintiffs. A separate suit by the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus targeted 📖Executive Order 26-038 in .

Neither lawsuit succeeded in blocking the suspension before May 16.

The Louisiana Senate voted 27-10 on May 14 to pass , sponsored by state Sen. Jay Morris (R-West Monroe). The bill redraws congressional districts to give Republicans a projected 5-1 advantage, up from the current 4-2 split. It eliminates the majority-Black 6th District held by Rep. Cleo Fields (D-Baton Rouge).

The remaining majority-Black 2nd District, held by Rep. Troy Carter (D-New Orleans), would stretch from New Orleans to a sliver of Baton Rouge. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee advanced the map on a after nine hours of testimony.

Rep. Troy Carter told PBS NewsHour that Landry's argument about unconstitutional maps was , stating: "No one's asking for extra rights. The reality is we still live in a society where discrimination is real." Carter held a town hall at Dillard University that drew hundreds of attendees.

Rep. Cleo Fields told the same program that the 📖redistricting amounted to voter suppression: "There are people who, in this state and others, just will not vote for a black person for anything." Fields said he wouldn't run against Carter if both were drawn into the same district.

The FEC issued a acknowledging Louisiana's suspension of House primaries, noting that campaign finance reporting deadlines would adjust accordingly. Under the revised schedule, House candidates must requalify in August for new primaries on July 15.

Louisiana shifted from its planned closed party primary system to a jungle primary format for House races, meaning candidates of all parties will appear on the same ballot when voting resumes.

The Heritage Foundation published a , arguing the decision corrected an unconstitutional misuse of the 📖Voting Rights Act that imposed proportional racial representation through 📖redistricting. Sen. Jay Morris echoed this view during floor debate, stating that SB 8's second Black-majority district had been a racial gerrymander from the start.

The Campaign Legal Center, Brennan Center, and Center for American Progress published opposing analyses calling Callais an that would affect 📖redistricting in at least seven Southern states.

Louisiana's partial election is unprecedented in modern American history. No state has previously held a federal election day where some congressional races proceeded while others on the same ballot were suspended due to 📖redistricting. The noted that over 100,000 absentee ballots had been mailed before the suspension.

Democracy Docket reported that the situation created on election day, with some voters unsure whether to mark House races and poll workers providing inconsistent guidance across parishes.