Louisiana’s Cleo Fields forgoes reelection after redistricting eliminated his seat

Louisiana Democrat Cleo Fields said Tuesday that he would not seek reelection this fall after his majority-Black district was redrawn to favor Republicans earlier this year. 

Instead, Fields said he would seek a return to the state Senate, running for his old seat that’s newly open following the recent death of his successor.

“After a great deal of prayer and reflection, I have decided not to seek re-election to Congress, in the 6th District or any other district in Louisiana,” he said in a statement. “I feel my calling to serve the people is better put to use back home than here in D.C., and I intend to answer that call.”

Fields returned to Congress last year nearly three decades after he served two terms in the mid-1990s before retiring after court-ordered redistricting. After leaving Congress, he served two separate stints in the state Senate before a new congressional map was approved in 2024, clearing the way for his return to the House from a redrawn district that stretched from Baton Rouge to Shreveport. 

But in April, the Supreme Court struck down that map, which had given Democrats two majority-Black House seats, finding that it was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The state Legislature then adopted new congressional lines, while also delaying the primaries for House races until November. All candidates, regardless of party, will compete on the same ballot, with the two top finishers advancing to Dec. 12 runoffs if no one wins an outright majority. 

Under the new map, the 6th District currently held by Fields, which Kamala Harris carried by 15 points, is essentially dismantled. Trump would have won the new 6th District — a majority-white seat in the Baton Rouge area — by 32 points, according to calculations by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. 

Fields’ announcement comes a day after the National Republican Congressional Committee added Louisiana’s 6th District to its list of targeted House seats this fall.

“This fall, Louisianans in the Sixth District will elect a strong, commonsense conservative who will give them the representation they deserve,” NRCC spokesman Reilly Richardson said in a statement.