Redistricting Battles Intensify in the South Amid Legal Rulings and Political Pressure

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves called a May 20 special session to redraw the state Supreme Court’s electoral map and consider congressional districts, meeting in the Old Capitol. Tennessee lawmakers are advancing a map that would erase Rep. Steve Cohen’s majority-Black Memphis district, and Virginia Senator Louise Lucas, architect of the 10-District-1-Republican map, was raided by the FBI.

Special session to redistrict has ‘nothing to do’ with fairness, Mississippi Democratic leader saysNew RepublicAfter 10D-1R Map Is Passed by Voters, Trump/Patel FBI Raids the Portsmouth Office of VA Sen. Louise LucasNew Republic

May 20, 2026 – Mississippi special session begins. 21 days earlier – SCOTUS’s *Louisiana v. Callais* barred race-based districts. Early May – Tennessee Judiciary Committee debated a new congressional map. Mid-May – FBI raided Senator Lucas’s office. *Callais* has prompted Republican-led states to revisit district lines, amplified by President Donald Trump’s calls for map changes ahead of upcoming midterm elections.

Special session to redistrict has ‘nothing to do’ with fairness, Mississippi Democratic leader says

Governor Reeves argued that using race to draw districts imposes a demeaning assumption that people of the same race share identical interests. State Auditor Shad White called for removing Thompson’s district. Federal judges have ordered Mississippi to draw districts that do not suppress Black voting power, a directive limited by the *Callais* decision.

Special session to redistrict has ‘nothing to do’ with fairness, Mississippi Democratic leader says

Cheikh Taylor called the Mississippi session “a slap in the face to the 1.2 million African Americans in this state” and a power grab. Gloria Johnson labeled Tennessee’s map “a clear power grab” and a “white power rally.” Sam Creekmore warned agenda is limited and unlikely to expand to congressional redistricting.

Special session to redistrict has ‘nothing to do’ with fairness, Mississippi Democratic leader says

Mississippi officials have not confirmed any congressional redistricting despite Republican pressure. No official reason has been given for the FBI raid on Senator Lucas’s office, and investigative details remain undisclosed.

After 10D-1R Map Is Passed by Voters, Trump/Patel FBI Raids the Portsmouth Office of VA Sen. Louise Lucas

• “Rep Kabir Karriem is right. It is a slap in the face to the 1.2 million African Americans in this state. It is also a confession. They are returning to the scene of the crime to try and finish the job.” — Cheikh Taylor, Mississippi Democratic Party chair

New Republic

• “when the government classifies its citizens on the basis of race, even as a perceived remedy to right a wrong, it engages in the offensive and demeaning assumption that Americans of a particular race, because of their race, think alike and share the same interests and preferences.” — Tate Reeves, Governor of Mississippi

Special session to redistrict has ‘nothing to do’ with fairness, Mississippi Democratic leader says

• “If you can get down here, we need you down here fighting with us. Because this is a clear power grab taking away the voice of the people. This is the Republicans’ white power rally.” — Gloria Johnson, Tennessee state representative

New Republic

Mississippi legislators will vote on map proposals during the May 20 session, with legal challenges. Tennessee’s revised congressional map awaits approval. Federal investigators have not announced further action on the raid on Senator Lucas’s office, leaving the inquiry’s scope uncertain.

After 10D-1R Map Is Passed by Voters, Trump/Patel FBI Raids the Portsmouth Office of VA Sen. Louise Lucas