Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) announced Friday that he will not seek another term after a court-ordered redistricting made his path to reelection harder and raised the possibility that he could run against a fellow Louisiana GOP lawmaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter much input from constituents, consultation with supporters, consensus from family, and guidance from the Almighty, it is clear that running for Congress this year does not make sense,\u201d Graves said in a statement. \u201cIt is evident that a run in any temporary district will cause actual permanent damage to Louisiana\u2019s great representation in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graves\u2019s decision comes about a month after the Supreme Court ordered Louisiana to use a map that redrew the 6th Congressional District, in which he serves, into the state\u2019s second Black-majority district. That left Graves, who is White, either facing an uphill battle in his district or potentially running against Rep. Julia Letlow, a fellow Republican, in the neighboring 5th Congressional District.<\/p>\n
First elected in 2014, Graves was a close ally of former House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) before his ouster last year. Graves played a lead role in negotiating the May 2023 deal to avoid a default on U.S. debt.<\/p>\n
He also authored the centerpiece of a legislative package last year that sought to bring down energy costs.<\/p>\n
Graves initially reacted to the Supreme Court ruling by promising to run for reelection in an unspecified \u201cdistrict anchored in the Capital Region,\u201d referring to the Baton Rouge area. But House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) launched an effort to stave off a member-on-member primary, endorsing all his Louisiana GOP colleagues, including Graves, for reelection in their existing districts.<\/p>\n
While the map endangered Graves, it protected the rest of the Louisiana GOP delegation, including its two most powerful members \u2014 Johnson, the speaker, and Rep. Steve Scalise, the House majority leader.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Graves predicted that the districts would be shaken up again after the 2024 elections. He also lamented Louisiana\u2019s loss of influence on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, of which he is a member.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdmittedly, it is a serious disappointment to miss the historic opportunity to champion Louisiana\u2019s priorities in this committee,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The map that dismantles Graves\u2019s district has the backing of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, an intraparty rival of the congressman. Last year, Graves supported one of Landry\u2019s GOP opponents in the gubernatorial race.<\/p>\n
Graves\u2019s decision leaves two Democrats running for the 6th District: state Sen. Cleo Fields and social justice activist Quentin Anthony Anderson. The candidate filing deadline is July 19.<\/p>\n
In Louisiana, congressional candidates from all parties run on the same ballot in the November election; if no one gets a majority, the top two vote-getters advance to a December runoff.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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