EXCLUSIVE: How a "MAGA" Senate candidate helped give House Democrats two extra seats

How a self-styled “MAGA” Senate candidate helped create two safe-Democrat House seats in Louisiana.

In recent weeks, Democrats have forced through a series of wins in the nationwide battle over redistricting thanks to highly partisan actors like Gov. Gavin Newsom (D., Calif.) spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to draw Republicans out of office in California.

But one redistricting win for Democrats that has flown under the radar happened in Louisiana of all places, and a self-described “MAGA” candidate for Senate was integral in handing Democrats two House seats.

Blake Miguez, a Republican state senator in Louisiana, voted with the state’s Democrats on SB8, a bill that guaranteed Democrats two House seats, which are currently held by Reps. Cleo Fields (D., La.) and Troy Carter (D., La.).

Both Fields and Carter are reliable opponents of President Donald Trump and of the MAGA agenda that Miguez portrays himself as a champion of in his primary campaign against Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.).

While some judges have thrown out maps advanced by Republicans in states across America, there was no guarantee that this would be the case in Louisiana while Miguez served as the Vice Chair of the State Senate committee that advanced SB8.

Other potential House maps included a 6-0 GOP map, a map with four safe GOP seats and two competitive seats, and a map with five safe GOP seats and one safe Democratic seat.

All options other than the one voted for by Miguez would have given Trump additional cover in contentious House votes. The final option was pushed by Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), who wanted to avoid the “unnecessary surrender of a Republican seat in Congress” in his home state.

Miguez did not respond to request for comment.