Hosemann: Redistricting coming to Mississippi

• Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann was confident that lawmakers will soon consider not only legislative redistricting in the wake of the Callais v. Louisiana decision but also state Supreme Court and congressional redistricting.

In his remarks at the Neshoba County Fair on Wednesday, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R) did not announce what office he would seek in 2027. It is expected that he will soon make his intentions known, with a likely run for governor rumored to be in the works.

Hosemann is in his second term as Lt. Governor and is term limited, meaning he cannot run for re-election to that office in next year’s elections.

But instead of talking about his own future, Hosemann used much of his time to push back on Democrats’ efforts to subvert the will of the people through challenging the Legislature’s electoral maps. He told attendees under the Founders Square pavilion that redistricting is coming to Mississippi.

“I have told you repeatedly one of the few rights we have as a state is our right to set the way we elect people and their districts, ” Hosemann said. “When we tried to redistrict Mississippi, the way your Legislature, the people you hired wanted to redistrict Mississippi, the federal courts said, ‘No, you can’t do it that way. You’ve got to redistrict another way. We want other people elected.'”

Hosemann said Democrats used the courts to elect more Democrats “and not the people you wanted,” he told the majority Republican crowd.

“Now the Supreme Court changed that and we’re back to where we were,” he said.

Hosemann was confident that lawmakers will soon consider not only legislative redistricting in the wake of the Callais v. Louisiana decision but also state Supreme Court and congressional redistricting.

Lawmakers Magnolia Tribune spoke with Wednesday anticipated being called into a special session by Governor Tate Reeves (R) later this year to address legislative redistricting ahead of the start qualifying for the 2027 election cycle which begins January 2. State Supreme Court and congressional redistricting could then be considered during the 2027 regular legislative session.

When asked if he wants to see the Legislature redistrict to oust Congressman Bennie Thompson, the lone Democrat representing Mississippi at the federal level, Hosemann said, “I’m not getting into one congressman or another congressman.”

Hosemann was adamant about race not being considered in the redistricting process, a position he believes a majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices took in their Callais decision. He said lawmakers would look at the population numbers to make the determination on the new maps for all offices under their purview.

As the leader of the state Senate, Hosemann appointed a Select Committee to research and make recommendation on how best to move forward with redistricting. That committee is being led by Senate Pro Tem Dean Kirby (R).

“There’ll be hearings all over the state from the Senate side, and I assume the House will be, too, and then we’ll get together with the joint resolution board and come up with new districts for all of Mississippi,” Hosemann said.

Hosemann also used his time at Neshoba to continue his push to reduce the number of state boards and commissions, call for increased focus on student absenteeism in Mississippi public schools, and finding ways to practically reduce the burden on taxpayers.

“Over the last seven years, we’ve cut taxes by more than $1 billion annually, risen from near last to 16th in education, raised teacher pay, fixed hundreds of collapsing roads, bridges, and water systems, put a career coach in every high school, attracted over $79 billion in private investment, and much more,” Hosemann shared. “We’ve come a long way, but we’re not finished. Mississippi is not last — it is leading. Our best days are ahead.”

Hosemann said he was pleased with state economic development.

“The governor’s doing a good job,” he added. “It’s just going well in Mississippi and I anticipate another good year.”