Louisiana approves new congressional map that could allow Republicans to pick up a seat, eliminates 1 majority Black district
Exterior view of the Louisiana State Capitol building, the seat of government for the state of Louisiana, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 20th June 1974. Completed in 1931, the Art Deco building was designed by architects Weiss, Dreyfous & Seiferth. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
(BATON ROUGE, La.) — Louisiana lawmakers on Friday approved a new congressional map that could allow Republicans to flip one of the state’s two Democratic-held House seats in the 2026 midterms.
The Louisiana Senate gave final approval to a bill with the new map after much dissent from Democrats.
“Y’all, at the beginning of this process, I would have said that we are building a house on a broken foundation. Now, it feels more like quicksand, because we’re in 2026 going into a map that we know is flawed, that we know is going to get struck down,” state Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat, said on the Senate floor.
State Sen. Jay Morris, a Republican, defended the map ahead of the final vote.
“I think we have a map here that meets all the traditional redistricting criteria. It’s not racially gerrymandered. … I think it broadly allows for representation for each region of the state, and it’s very fair, and we should approve it,” Morris said.
The new map comes weeks after U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state’s current map as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
The landmark Supreme Court decision dealt a blow to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and set off a newfound scramble of mid-decade redistricting in Louisiana and other states that Democrats say could drastically reduce the number of Black representatives in Congress.
On Thursday, during hours of floor debate, several Democratic state representatives condemned the redrawn map, which eliminates one of the two majority-Black districts in the state, as discriminatory.
“I want to ask you to remember the argument that we should now be colorblind about a congressional map, in this state of all states, requires forgetting a quantity of history that I don’t believe any of us has the right to forget. Black people in this country were not citizens; not partial citizens, not second-class citizens. We weren’t citizens at all,” state Rep. Kyle Green, a Democrat and member of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, said on Thursday.
State Rep. Beau Beaullieu, a Republican who sponsored an amended version of the map that the state House approved, argued to members that legislators had been forced to redraw the map because of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“And now we find ourselves back with a similar map to the one this body passed in 2022, that had five Republican districts and one Democrat district,” he said on Thursday. “The map complies with traditional redistricting principles and also maximizes partisan advantage. The map is contiguous; it is compact; it binds communities of interest; it protects incumbency. … Race was not a factor when drawing these districts.”
Senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks during a campaign event at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6859, May 17, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(MAINE) — Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has said he is considering his options in the wake of a sexual assault allegation that he denies. But Democrats in Maine and nationally are calling on him to withdraw from the race against Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.
How his replacement could be chosen if he does withdraw and who might run in his place has become a firestorm among Democrats.
How could Maine Democrats select another candidate?
The Maine Democratic Party has called on Platner to leave the race. If he does by July 13 at 5 p.m. ET, the party has until July 27 to nominate a replacement. The state of Maine itself would not hold new primaries.
But the party has a lot of flexibility as to how it chooses any replacement. One source familiar with Maine politics told ABC News that the party’s state committee would vote on who would become the replacement candidate.
The state Democratic party has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
Another source who is working in Maine politics told ABC News that it’s possible the party could convene delegates to vote for a new candidate — similar to how the party used to nominate candidates at state party conventions. The source added that it is unclear if the event would be in-person or virtual, or how the delegate vote would be taken, such as by a majority vote or ranked-choice voting.
The prospect of the party selecting a candidate also raises the possibility of a backlash if Maine voters feel either that the candidate does not represent the ideals they voted for or that party insiders are choosing for them.
“My hope is that the process is transparent and fair,” Ryan Fecteau, speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, told ABC News on Tuesday.
Who might try to replace Platner?
There were two other candidates on the Senate primary ballot with Platner in the June 9 primary, although Maine Democrats are largely not promoting them as alternatives to Platner.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her campaign before the primary, is largely not being floated as a viable replacement candidate. ABC News has reached out to Mills’ office.
Former Maryland state official David Costello placed third in the primary. In a brief post on Facebook on Tuesday, Costello confirmed that he’d try for the seat if he can: “I’m back in, if Graham Platner withdraws.”
Other major Maine Democrats who ran for other offices are indicating they might consider trying for the Senate seat.
Troy Jackson, a logger and former candidate in Maine’s Democratic gubernatorial primary and a progressive, has been floated as a candidate who could appeal to Platner’s voters. He is a former state senator and was the Senate president from 2018 to 2024.
A source confirmed that Jackson has been receiving immense outreach about the possibility of replacing Platner and that he is interested. The source added that it makes sense for him to carry the “progressive torch,” and that Jackson is coming from a primary where he had an infrastructure in place and would be ready to jump in.
A campaign committee called the Troy Jackson Senate Exploratory Committee filed a statement of organization with the Federal Elections Commission on Tuesday. The Bangor Daily News was first to report about the filing.
Shenna Bellows is Maine’s first female Secretary of State and was also a candidate in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. A source close to Bellows told ABC News that she has gotten calls about possibly running for the Senate seat.
Nirav Shah, who confirmed he’s considering a bid, was in the running to be Maine’s governor and led in the polls prior to the Democratic runoff. Shah confirmed on his X account that he would consider a Senate bid and that he’s been receiving immense outreach to run if Platner withdraws. He told ABC News by phone on Tuesday that he has not declared his candidacy but has an infrastructure in place to run a campaign if he does enter the race.
Shah is an attorney and healthcare executive and oversaw the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another potential candidate, Dan Kleban, founder of the Maine Beer Company, was an early candidate in the Democratic Senate primary but ultimately suspended his campaign and endorsed Mills.
A source close to Kleban told ABC News on Tuesday that he has been getting calls and is being encouraged to run, and added Kleban also never endorsed Platner and kept his distance from him, meaning he would not appear tied to Platner.
In a similar boat: Jordan Wood, who was a losing candidate in the Democratic primary for Maine’s 2nd District after originally beginning a run for Senate. Wood wrote on X on Tuesday that he was open to a bid for Senate if Platner withdrew.
A potential wildcard candidate who has not confirmed if he would consider a bid is Rep. Jared Golden, a veteran who has represented Maine’s 2nd District since 2019. In November, Golden announced that he would not seek re-election, citing concerns over the safety of his family. ABC News has reached out to Golden’s office.
State Rep. Valli Geiger, a strong ally of Platner, told ABC News she is in conversations about being considered as a replacement, but hopes that the state party will hold an “open” and “robust” process.
Geiger, who hopes the candidate would embody a progressive agenda, added that she thinks it’s “hard to see a way forward” if Platner stays in the race and thinks he’s “struggling to figure out if there’s a path”
“I’m just so sad about how things have turned out, and there are no winners here. We have lost an incredible voice that I think had a real chance to beat Susan Collins, and one cannot outrun one’s past,” Geiger said.
The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool along the National Mall on Tuesday, July 3, 2026 in Washington, D.C.Rushed work continues at the White House and across the nation’s capital in preparation for the country’s 250 anniversary on July 4. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Former U.S. Olympian David Hearn appeared in D.C. Superior Court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty through his attorney to the felony charge he faces for allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
Hearn was seated between his attorneys, Steven Levin and Mary Dohrmann, with another attorney, Norm Eisen, seated behind them in a packed courtroom.
A sizable crowd gathered outside the courtroom and Eisen said that Hearn was being used as a “scapegoat” for the administration’s “failures” on one of Donald Trump’s pet Washington beautification projects.
The Reflecting Pool turned green and pieces of the liner started bubbling up to the surface after it was painted last month. It was plagued with algae and peeling paint since the Trump administration completed the $16 million renovation of the landmark.
President Donald Trump shifted the blame to vandals, without providing evidence. Hearn was among those arrested and Trump threatened 10-year prison terms.
Dohrmann, a former federal prosecutor who previously served on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigative team, entered the not guilty plea on Hearn’s behalf. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Reddington was the lone prosecutor from the Justice Department present at the hearing, which concluded after only 13 minutes.
Judge Carmen McLean ordered Hearn released on his own recognizance and set the next status hearing in the case for Wednesday, Aug. 5.
Hearn was indicted on July 2 for allegedly “maliciously” destroying part of the lining of the Reflecting Pool. The single count of destruction of property — for a 2 square foot section of the massive pool — carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Eisen, an attorney for Hearn, briefly addressed reporters outside of court, drawing cheers from the crowd as he maintained his client’s innocence while declining to discuss substantive details about the case.
“Today, Davey Hearn pled not guilty because he is not guilty,” Eisen said. “If Mr. Hearn can be charged with a felony for touching the Reflecting Pool, every American is at risk and every American should be alarmed about this prosecution. This indictment reflects the administration’s effort to scapegoat Davey and to shift blame for their own failures.”
Eisen previewed an aggressive legal strategy to challenge the legality of the indictment similar to other foes of Trump who have accused the administration of weaponizing the Justice Department against them.
“We anticipate receiving substantial discovery,” Eisen said. “The evidence will establish, as we have stated today, Mr. Hearn is innocent. We will reserve questions about exactly what happened for the trial. That is what the justice system is for.”
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced the indictment in a press conference, alleging that Hearn was “forcefully and violently” pulling up the liner and “damaged approximately 2 square feet of sealant from the bottom of the pool.”
Hearn previously told ABC News that police arrested him after he touched a piece of blue coating that was partially detached from the bottom of the Reflecting Pool. He said he went for a bike ride on June 19 and stopped by the pool as a “curious, concerned citizen.”
“I did not remove, I did not damage, I did not rip, tear, break, destroy or harm any part of the Reflecting Pool,” Hearn told ABC News.
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is now being drained after the issues, which Trump blamed on vandals, including one he said used a boxcutter or knife to make a 350-foot gash in the pool. When asked by ABC News last Thursday about the president’s claim, Pirro said, “Someone intentionally did a tremendous amount of damage to the pool, and you can actually see where all the cutting is.”
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to voters at a town hall at the Elks Lodge 188 on June 7, 2026 in Portland, Maine. (Photo by Laura Brett/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Maine voters will decide on Tuesday whether oyster farmer Graham Platner will be the Democratic Party’s nominee to take on longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills is also on the Democratic Senate primary ballot on Tuesday, as is former Maryland state official David Costello. However, Mills suspended her campaign in late April citing financial resources, and a University of New Hampshire poll published recently found that Costello “is largely unknown.”
Platner has been fighting controversies throughout his campaign, ranging from him once getting a tattoo accused of resembling a Nazi symbol to allegations published by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal claiming he sent sexually explicit texts to women.
And last Thursday, the Times reported that some of the Army veteran’s former girlfriends said that his actions could be “intimidating and disturbing.”
Platner did not deny the allegations that he sent sexually explicit texts, saying that his wife “went through something hard — because of me.”
In a statement after the Times’ story was published last Thursday, Platner said, “Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self medicated with alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend,” “I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated.”
Platner previously covered up the controversial tattoo, saying at the time that it came up “because the establishment is trying to throw everything it can at me. It is terrified of what we are trying to build here.”
During a rally in Bar Harbor, Maine, on Friday — one day after the Times’ most recent story, Platner said that “every single piece” of his past and journey is being “dug up, litigated and weaponized.”
Also after the Times’ latest report, Platner told ABC affiliate WMTW that “I’m very happy to talk about incredibly uncomfortable things in my life, but when things come along that are just made up or lies, I’m very much going to push back against those.”
Throughout the campaign cycle, polling has found that most likely primary voters view Platner positively. The University of New Hampshire poll, which published shortly before the most recent reports on Platner, found that 76% of likely voters planned on ranking Platner, a progressive who has focused on wealth inequality, first on their ballots, which have ranked choice voting.
Given Maine’s system of ranked choice voting and having local municipalities — not the state government — be responsible for counting the ballots on election night, it remains unclear how long it will take for each race to be called.
What voters are saying
Portland, Maine, voter Tyler Stoddard told ABC News that he supports Platner, explaining that he feels that people are focusing too much on personal matters.
“I think that he’s going to break the Republican majority in the Senate, and I think that will help stop Donald Trump,” Stoddard said.
Yarmouth, Maine, resident Janet Marstine told ABC News that she voted early for Mills.
“I don’t trust the frontrunner in the Democratic Party. He has too many secrets, and we don’t even know the depth of them,” Marstine said, adding that Mills “knows Maine more than any other leader, really, in this state.”
Affordability in ‘Vacationland’ top of mind
The Senate race is far from the only one on the largely ranked choice ballot in Maine on Tuesday.
In a state that describes itself as “Vacationland” on its license plates, affordability is top of mind, with many candidates including the issue in their campaign materials.
The gubernatorial primaries along with the Democratic primary in the 2nd Congressional District are expected to be particularly competitive.
Sitting Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is not running for reelection in the geographically sizable 2nd Congressional District.
With control of the House up for grabs this November, Democrats like Joe Baldacci, Matt Dunlap and Jordan Wood want to keep the seat blue while former Republican Gov. Paul LePage is seeking to make it red.
Baldacci has the backing of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, while Dunlap has aligned himself with Platner. Prior to Katie Porter’s unsuccessful run for California governor, Wood served as her congressional chief of staff.
In the governor’s race, the Democrats running include former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree. Jackson, Bellows and Pingree previously announced they will rank each other on their ballots.
Candidates seeking the Republican nomination include former Naval Intelligence Officer Bobby Charles, businessman Ben Midgley, former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason and former Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush, who is former President George W. Bush’s cousin.
In Maine, voters who do not belong to either major party are allowed to choose to vote in one party’s primary when they show up to vote.
Early voting in Maine concluded last Thursday. Voters who did not cast their ballots early have until 8 p.m. to vote on Tuesday.
