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Mississippi Democrat on potential redistricting after VRA ruling: ‘We have a fight ahead of us’

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by Ryan Mancini - 05/02/26 3:31 PM ET

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by Ryan Mancini - 05/02/26 3:31 PM ET

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Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) on Saturday said the likely redistricting efforts that could kick off following the Supreme Court’s ruling against a second Black majority congressional district in Louisiana leave Democrats with “a fight ahead of” them.

Ahead of what was at the time a looming Supreme Court decision on the Voting Rights Act, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) said last week he would call for a special session to consider redrawing the state’s congressional map 21 days after the high court made a ruling. That decision came on Wednesday.

“So, clearly, we have a fight ahead of us,” Thompson told CNN’s Victor Blackwell. “Those of us who have been in this fight forever will continue to. In most of these states, Victor, nobody has said this, all of these districts were drawn by Republicans and approved by Republican legislatures.”

Thompson argued that with Black people making up 38 percent of Mississippi’s population, they should have one House representative “at a minimum.”

“What you see is exactly what I’ve been talking about,” he continued. “Given an opportunity left to themselves without any guardrails, white Republican elected officials would wipe out every opportunity for Black people to be elected. And so this Supreme Court issue that was decided in favor of the Black community is now being challenged by the governor with a new redistricting plan.”

The 6-3 ruling by the Supreme Court stated that the new map in Louisiana was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, weakening a core provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That provision prevents election practices that deny equal access to the political process based on race. The ruling could significantly impact the provision’s usage.

Thompson said he “would not be an elected official had it not been for the Voting Rights Act,” nor would he have been a registered voter had it not been for it.

But the ruling could jeopardize Democratic seats in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina, according to Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, Thompson’s seat among them.

Thompson said the court’s ruling “has moved us back over 60 years, and we’re going to fight for it.”

“Look at what they’re doing in Louisiana, as you said,” he said. “They’re trying to stop the election and take representation from the Black community with no remorse at all. They just want to do it.”

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) on Thursday suspended the state’s primary and runoff elections, previously scheduled for just more than two weeks away. He and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (R) said in a statement that the court’s decision bars the state “from carrying out congressional elections under the current map.”

“This executive order ensures we uphold the rule of law while giving the Legislature the time it needs to pass a fair and lawful congressional map,” Landry said in announcing the suspension.

Democrats have denounced the Supreme Court’s ruling as a return to Jim Crow-era laws limiting Black citizens in the South from voting with restrictions such as poll taxes and literacy tests. They fear it could help Republicans pick up as many as 19 new GOP-leaning House seats.

Southern Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), have called on their respective state’s elected officials to ensure GOP House victories in November.

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