Louisiana Congressman Won’t Run for Re-election in New Minority District

BATON ROUGE, La. (KPEL News) - A Congressman who has been representing the Baton Rouge area since 2015 will not be running for re-election this year, his office confirmed to reporters on Friday.

Republican Garret Graves, who is the Congressman for Louisiana's 6th Congressional District, made the decision after the Supreme Court ruled that the last approved Congressional map for Louisiana would be in effect for the 2024 election cycle. That ruling meant Graves would likely be running in the new, controversial, majority-minority district passed by the state legislature and endorsed by Gov. Jeff Landry.

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Graves had also considered running in Louisiana's 5th Congressional District, which is currently held by fellow Republican Julia Letlow. House Speaker Mike Johnson, also from Louisiana, endorsed Graves in the 6th Congressional District, which appeared to shut down the possibility of Graves running against a colleague.

Graves, who worked closely on policy under previous U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was notably silent in the 2023 gubernatorial race. There was speculation that he was looking to run for governor at the same time Landry was. However, he backed out and instead endorsed Stephen Waguespack, who was one of several Republicans in the race.

Landry ended up winning without a run-off, and there had been speculation that he held a grudge against Graves, with the new congressional district being a reflection of that. Neither side has commented on the whispered allegations.

Graves would have been running against state senator Cleo Fields, who helped draw the congressional district he is now a candidate for.

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