In the newly-redrawn 6th Congressional District Louisiana State Senator Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, avoided a runoff election by winning just over 50% of the vote against his nearest challenger republican former state senator Elbert Guillory, who collected 37% of the vote.
Fields will now return to Congress after serving two terms in the mid-1990s. He represented the state’s 4th Congressional District until it was redrawn. and that map also faced a lawsuit. Fields recalled, “At the end of the day I think Stevie Wonder could see that the district was not created solely based on race. The district was created the way it was created based on politics.”
Notes: The estimated share of votes counted is based on AP analysis. AP notes that this will fluctuate as the vote tabulation takes place.
During our special, live election coverage on Red River Radio Tuesday night, a panel of experts joined me for results and analysis. That included LSU Shreveport Political Science Professor Jeffrey Sadow. Early in our coverage, Sadow agreed fields was the odds on favorite: “Oh sure. I mean, he’s raised by far the most amount of money. Left over he can throw on as well. Lots of endorsements. He was the chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that drew this map. So, um yeah, I think that if there was anything that was tailormade for him this would be it.”
The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will take up the challenge to Louisiana's newest congressional map, which established the majority-Black 6th district. Arguments won't come until early next year with a ruling expected next summer. Fields explained, “It’s a good moment, it's a good time, I’m excited, but I’m tired. But for the people to believe in you through all of these many years, it’s a special feeling.”
The Supreme Court order is just the latest step in a federal court battle that's lasted over two years. Earlier this year it was decided the current election would proceed under the challenged map.
