Rep. Cleo Fields (D-La.) revealed Tuesday that he will not seek a second consecutive House term after the Supreme Court ruled this year that his majority-black district was the product of an “unconstitutional gerrymander.”
“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,” said Fields, 63, who added that he would instead run for the state Senate, where he served for nearly 20 years across three separate stints.
Fields’ announcement comes after the Pelican State’s Republican-controlled legislature redrew the congressional map in May following the high court’s April 29 decision that Louisiana had been forced to add a second majority-black district in violation of the 14th Amendment.
The new map reconfigures Fields’ former district to include predominently white areas around the state capital, Baton Rouge, after previously including much of the cities of Lafayette and Shreveport.
The decision by Fields, who also served in Congress between 1993 and 1997, leaves no Democrat currently running to represent the 6th District.
By contrast, five Republicans are competing for the seat, led by state Sen. Rick Edmonds.
Due to the late redrawing of the Louisiana map, the Nov. 3 elections for all six House seats will serve as primaries, with candidates required to get at least 50% of the vote to avoid top-two runoffs, which will take place Dec. 12.
Fields is the 59th House member — 36 Republicans and 23 Democrats — to announce they are not seeking re-election, the most of any cycle dating back to at least 2012.
