Louisiana plans to delay House primaries after Supreme Court redistricting ruling

Louisiana is preparing to delay its House primaries after the Supreme Court struck down its current map.

In a statement posted to social media, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry said the court’s decision bars the state from holding elections using its current congressional maps. State officials “are working together with the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s office to develop a path forward” for its May 16 primaries, he said.

Absentee and military ballots have already been mailed out and early voting is set to begin on Saturday. It’s unclear whether the delay would only apply to House elections and if others would move forward as scheduled, like the contentious GOP Senate primary.

Landry on Wednesday told House Republican candidates he was planning to suspend the elections, according to a person familiar with the conversations, granted anonymity to share private details. Landry’s decision was first reported by the Washington Post.

The governor told candidates in phone calls that he would make the delay official on Friday and mentioned potentially using emergency executive power to pause the elections, according to the person.

Doing so would amount to a legally risky gambit on a very tight timeline. The state legislature is in recess until next week.

Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Thursday that he supported delaying his home state’s primary elections following the Supreme Court’s order.

“The governor has no choice but to suspend it,” Johnson said. “The court has ruled our map unconstitutional.” In lieu of another round of primaries, Johnson suggested the state should instead hold an all-party “jungle” election in November, with a run-off in December.

“All states that have unconstitutional maps should look at that very carefully, and I think they should do it before the midterms,” he added.

The Supreme Court’s decision to weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has set off a scramble across various southern Republican-led states, with top candidates and party chairs from Georgia to Tennessee calling for special sessions to dismantle majority-minority districts. Still, it will be difficult for the party to push through more maps ahead of the midterms.