Gov. Tate Reeves, R-Miss., appeared to pour cold water on the prospect of redistricting in time for the 2026 midterms on Wednesday, saying he saw “no need” for the state to redraw its House maps.Reeves previously called for a special session of the state legislature ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling in a Louisiana redistricting case, with the purpose of redrawing its maps. On Wednesday, however, he confirmed he would cancel the special session and indicated that developments in court rendered the state’s current slate of maps legally viable.
“On Monday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the opinion finding that Mississippi’s current Supreme Court map violated the Voting Rights Act and must be redrawn.
As a result, the injunction preventing Mississippi from using the current Supreme Court map was dissolved,” he said. “This means Mississippi’s current map can still be used in all future elections.”
“While I always believed that the District Court’s opinion was erroneous and eventually would be overturned on appeal, to preserve the Mississippi Legislature’s right under both state and federal law to have the first opportunity to redraw the Supreme Court map, I set a special session of the Mississippi Legislature that would have begun next Wednesday,” he added. “However, because the District Court’s injunction has been dissolved and the current Supreme Court map again is in full force and effect, there is no need for the Legislature to draw a new map.”
Mississippi currently has four congressional seats, only one of which is held by a Democrat. Republicans across the country have moved to redraw their House maps in a manner more favorable to the GOP in time for the midterms. The South, in particular, faced a wave of redraws in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling.
Earlier in the day, Reeves hinted he would not pursue a redraw in time for 2026, saying he expected a redraw to come some time “between now and 2027 elections.”
Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.
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