Mississippi Republicans are fuming after GOP Gov. Tate Reeves abruptly pulled the plug on a planned special legislative session that was expected to tackle the state’s ongoing redistricting fight.
Reeves announced Wednesday that he is rescinding the special session call to redraw Mississippi Supreme Court district lines after a major federal appeals court ruling changed the legal landscape of the case.
The decision immediately sparked backlash from conservatives who had hoped the session could also open the door to broader congressional map changes ahead of the 2026 midterms, with some Republicans pushing aggressively for new district lines that could weaken longtime Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson.
“The plaintiffs have stipulated that they are not going to seek any new elections in 2026 on judicial races in Mississippi,” Reeves said during a Wednesday radio interview. “Because of that, there is no longer any reason for the Legislature to come in on next Wednesday for judicial redistricting.”
The governor said he plans to officially rescind the call later Wednesday.
RELATED: Five Republicans Vote With Dems To Tank Red State Redistricting Effort
The fight centers around Mississippi redistricting efforts tied to a broader legal battle over race-based district maps following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. The high court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map, ruling that lawmakers relied too heavily on race when creating a majority-black district.
That decision triggered fallout in Mississippi, where federal courts had previously ordered the state to redraw district boundaries dating back to 1987 in order to boost black voting strength under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
But earlier this week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated that order, effectively undercutting the legal justification for Reeves’ planned special session.
Reeves had initially announced in April that lawmakers would return to Jackson 21 days after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Callais. Republicans had framed the move as a proactive effort to prepare for possible changes to Mississippi’s judicial maps. Democrats blasted the plan at the time as a partisan power grab.
RELATED: GOP Under Fire For ‘Giving’ Dems A Seat In Deep Red State
“What Tate Reeves announced today is not a good-faith effort to comply with the law,” Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Cheikh Taylor previously said. “It is a plan to exploit a pending court ruling to do what Mississippi Republicans have always done, draw maps designed to silence black voters.”
Still, Reeves signaled Wednesday that congressional redistricting remains very much on the table, even if it will not happen immediately.
“The tenure of Congressman Bennie Thompson’s reign of terror over the 2nd Congressional District is over. It is not a question of if; it’s a question of when,” Reeves said.
The governor also dismissed speculation that the White House was pressuring Mississippi Republicans to redraw congressional lines before November.
“Understand something, that maybe while it may be in the best interest of some individual politicians in Mississippi to talk about congressional redistricting, what happens in Mississippi doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Reeves said.
Reeves indicated any future redistricting effort may instead happen during Mississippi’s 2027 legislative session. Republicans have increasingly argued that the current district maps unfairly benefit Democrats and should be revisited after recent court rulings weakened the legal foundation for race-focused map drawing nationwide.
Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>
