Three-term state Sen. Cleo Fields became the Louisiana delegation’s second Black Democratic congressman Tuesday night, returning to the House of Representatives after an absence of almost three decades.Â
The five other members of the delegation easily won reelection, including Julia Letlow — in a new district that includes parts of Baton Rouge — along with House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
Fields' win marks the first time since 2011 that Louisiana has sent more than one Democratic representative to the U.S. House. The Legislature in January redrew the districts from which the six House representatives are elected to include two Black majority districts instead of one.
Fields, D-Baton Rouge, bested former state Sen. Elbert Guillory, R-Opelousas, and three Democratic candidates — Quentin Anthony Anderson, Wilken Jones Jr. and Peter Williams — to win 6th Congressional District without a runoff. To create a second Black majority district, legislators linked predominantly Black neighborhoods from north Baton Rouge through West Baton Rouge Parish to Lafayette, then up through Opelousas, Alexandria, Natchitoches and Shreveport.
Fields, 61, was the congressman from 1993 to 1997 for Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District, where he was known for taking liberal positions on issues. After redistricting in 1996, Fields was put in a then-White majority 6th Congressional district. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1995 and has served in the state senate for 19 years over three terms.
Here are the results from the other districts:
1st District
The dean of the delegation, Scalise easily dispatched four opponents to represent mostly New Orleans suburbs for another two-year term.
The Jefferson Republican was first elected to the U.S. House as a state senator from Jefferson Parish in May 2008 to fill out the term of Bobby Jindal, who had been elected governor.
Scalise, 59, won without a runoff in the nine reelection bids since — usually with more than 70% of the ballots cast. He has been in GOP House leadership for 10 years.
2nd District
Carter, D-New Orleans, won his second full term after easily defeating a Democratic challenger and three Republican opponents. He was first elected in 2021 to fill out the term of Cedric Richmond, who resigned from the House to join the Biden administration.
Carter, 61, represents Louisiana’s other Black majority district, which stretches up the Mississippi River from New Orleans East through Iberville Parish. The 2nd District had included north Baton Rouge before the maps were redrawn in January.
He is second vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security committees.
3rd District
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, won his fifth term in the House since first being elected in 2016. He defeated two Democratic and one Republican candidates.
The largely coastal Acadiana 3rd Congressional District picked up Raceland and Chackbay in northern Lafourche Parish and Terrebonne Parish when legislators redrew the maps in January.
Higgins, 63, is on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, the Homeland Security panel and the Armed Services Committee. He also is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
4th District
The U.S. House’s top leader, Johnson, from the northwest Louisiana town of Benton, easily won reelection.
Johnson, 52, was first elected to the House in 2016 and became the lower chamber’s leader in October 2023.
He easily dispatched an opponent who raised no money.
5th District
Letlow, from the northeast Louisiana village of Start, will become the Baton Rouge region’s other congressional representative after outpacing two opponents who did not raise enough campaign money to report to the Federal Election Commission.
Her 5th Congressional District was redrawn by legislators to include LSU, much of south Baton Rouge, and parts of Livingston and Ascension parishes.
The only woman in the Louisiana delegation, Letlow, 43, was first elected in 2021 and sits on the House Appropriations Committee.
Leadership battle
Safe from formidable opponents, both Johnson and Scalise spent most of their time campaigning around the country for Republican incumbents and candidates.
Republicans hold 220 seats and Democrats have 212 with three vacancies. About 27 races are close, and their outcomes will decide which party wins the House’s majority and controls the lower chamber through 2026.
Johnson likely will keep the speakership and Scalise will remain majority leader if Republicans win at least 218 of the 435 seats in the House.
