Louisiana Congressional Primaries Suspended Amid State of Emergency

Governor Jeff Landry is facing a series of federal lawsuits after issuing an executive order to suspend Louisiana’s closed party primary elections for the U.S. House of Representatives. The legal challenges seek to restore the elections, which were originally scheduled for May 16, 2026, and June 27, 2026.

The governor’s decision followed an April 28 ruling by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Louisiana v. Callais. In that decision, the court found that Louisiana’s congressional map and its two majority-Black districts were unconstitutionally racially gerrymandered.

Legal Challenges to the Suspension

Multiple lawsuits have been filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. One primary case, Garcia et al. V. Landry et al., was filed on April 30, 2026. This suit was brought by Lindsay Garcia, a voter and Democratic candidate in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District, along with other voters.

The plaintiffs in the Garcia case argue that the suspension of the primaries is unlawful, and unconstitutional. According to court filings, the suit seeks immediate action to restore the election schedule to prevent the disenfranchisement of voters.

Additional legal actions were filed on May 1, 2026, as a growing wave of challenges targets the governor and other state leaders. These suits allege that the suspension was implemented to allow Republican lawmakers to redraw voting districts following the Supreme Court’s ruling on gerrymandering.

Governor’s Justification

Governor Landry stated that the suspension of the U.S. House primary elections was a direct response to the Supreme Court’s findings. The administration maintains that the move is necessary to address the court’s ruling on race-based discrimination in the state’s mapping process.

The best way to end race-based discrimination is to stop making decisions based

Governor Jeff Landry, Office of Governor Jeff Landry

The executive order specifically targets only the closed party primaries for U.S. Representative offices, leaving other election processes unaffected.

Current Judicial Status

The challenge to the suspension has been assigned to Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick in the federal courthouse in Baton Rouge. Legal observers and candidates have been awaiting rulings on these challenges to determine if the May 16 primary date will be reinstated.

As of May 3, 2026, several cases continue to move forward through the federal court system, with the central conflict remaining whether the governor’s emergency powers extend to the suspension of federally mandated election cycles in response to a judicial ruling on redistricting.