BATON ROUGE — Rep. Cleo Fields will be on the ballot during a Dec. 12 special election, running for late State Sen. Larry Selders' seat.

"I thought about doing a lot of other things," Fields said during a news conference on Friday. "But the moment has called me to do this."

On Tuesday, Fields announced that he would not be seeking re-election in Congress, instead running for a seat in the State Senate, specifically the seat representing the 14th Senatorial District. The seat has been vacant since Selders' death earlier this month at the age of 44. 

"The State Senate is where I've done the most. It's where I have done the most legislative work. It's where I made kindergarten mandatory," Fields said. "I'm coming back to my roots."

Fields previously represented the 14th Senatorial District between 1988 and 1993, 1997 and 2008 and most recently, from 2020 to 2025, when he was succeeded by Selders following a successful run for Congress.

Fields currently represents Louisiana's 6th Congressional District, which was dissolved by the state legislature after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

"The hardest decision was when the Supreme Court took the district," he added. "Quite frankly, I was hoping that it would be narrowly tailored and only affect Louisiana. But they basically just did away with the Voting Rights Act. That was a big burden on me. I did not want to be the reason that we lose so many seats across the country."

Fields said he feels confident "that the Democrats will regain the leadership of the House and perhaps the Senate." 

"It's bittersweet for me. Who wants to do it under these circumstances?" the congressman said, referencing both the Louisiana v. Callais decision and Selders' death. "But I feel truly the best way I can honor my friend is by finishing what he started, and I plan to do that for the next year if the people agree." 

Fields added that his office in Washington, D.C., would close on Nov. 12. District 6 offices in Louisiana will close on Dec. 18, Fields continued.

"I believe in a smooth transition of power," Fields said.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that Fields "will be deeply missed by the entire House Democratic Caucus." 

"On two separate occasions, Republicans have deployed undemocratic gerrymandering tactics to target and wipe out districts represented by Rep. Fields and deny equal representation to Black Louisianans," Jeffries said in a statement. "House Democrats will continue our fight to deliver fair Congressional maps, defend the integrity of our elections and end voter suppression once and for all."