Gov. Tate Reeves (R-MS) called off Mississippi’s special legislative session to redraw the state’s judicial map after the previous court-ordered redraw was deemed incongruent with the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais.
Reeves explained in a Wednesday morning radio interview with SuperTalk Mississippi Media that “there is no reason for the legislature to come in” anymore. The special session was not for congressional redistricting, but for redrawing the state’s Supreme Court map after a federal court ordered in 2025 that the judicial map diluted the votes of Mississippi’s black residents. Reeves called that initial federal court ruling in north Mississippi an “asinine ruling.”
After the Supreme Court’s decision in Callais, the state and the plaintiffs in that case filed a joint motion to halt the court-ordered redraw, Reeves said, and the judge vacated the order.
“There is no longer any reason for the legislature to come in on next Wednesday,” Reeves said, referring to the day the special session was slated to begin. The next time the state legislature could change the judicial map would be its next full legislative session, which starts at the beginning of 2027.
Reeves, however, stood firm in his desire to redraw the state’s congressional map to favor Republicans. The state’s current map gives Republicans a 3-1 advantage, with U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) being the only Democrat. Reeves said he is in “constant” communication with the White House about congressional redistricting.
“No one is working closer with the White House on what the congressional maps in Mississippi look like than I am,” Reeves said.
However, he discussed the “complicated” implications if Mississippi decided to push to redistrict in the 2026 cycle, since it has already had its primary elections with the current districts in place. He pointed to the fact that blue states such as Illinois, which has three GOP seats on its current map, have already held their primaries, saying, “There is a risk with every move on this puzzle that is made.”
“There is no doubt that Mississippi can and should redraw the four congressional districts. The question is not if we should do it, the question is simply when we should do it,” Reeves said.
Reeves did not rule out a 2026 redistricting, however, saying the state is looking at “every potential option” for redrawing the map.
“The tenure of Congressman Bennie Thompson reigning terror on the 2nd Congressional District is over,” Reeves said. “It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of when.”
MISSISSIPPI GOVERNOR EYES REDISTRICTING FIGHT THAT GOES BEYOND CONGRESSIONAL MAPS
Thompson, who has served in Congress since 1993, has been vocal about the national redistricting battle since the Supreme Court struck down race-based redistricting. He said Democrats should “resist with every fiber in our body” the sweeping moves across the South to redistrict after the Callais decision.
“I don’t care what they say; we are committed to fighting this redistricting no matter what. There are more at stake than meets the eye, and we’ve come too far to ever turn around!” Thompson said on X in early May.