Key State Calls Special Redistricting Session Amid GOP Moves to Redraw Maps
Republicans are pulling out all the stops, even to the point of doing what Democrats did years ago, to keep control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections.
Starting earlier this century, Democrat-run states engaged in redistricting to squeeze out Republicans and capture more U.S. House seats.
Ahead of this election cycle, Republican-controlled states are doing the same thing, much to the angst of the opposition party – and with the blessin gof the Supreme Court.
Georgia Republicans are officially joining the nationwide redistricting battle after Gov. Brian Kemp (R) announced a special legislative session to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative maps following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais.
The special session will begin June 17 and could dramatically reshape Georgia’s political landscape heading into the 2028 election cycle.
Republicans are openly signaling they intend to dismantle race-based districts that were previously protected under Voting Rights Act precedent.
“The Supreme Court decision is clear,” Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon said after the announcement.
“That we can’t have these racially gerrymandered maps anymore. They’re illegal,” he added.
Kemp’s executive order directs lawmakers to redraw congressional, state House, and state Senate districts after the Supreme Court significantly narrowed the legal framework surrounding racial considerations in redistricting.
The move places Georgia alongside other Republican-controlled Southern states, including Tennessee, Alabama, and Louisiana, that are aggressively revisiting district maps after the Court ruled states cannot rely predominantly on race when drawing political boundaries.
Kemp previously indicated that Georgia would not alter maps before the 2026 elections because voting and ballot preparations were already underway.
However, he made clear the state intends to comply with the new legal environment before 2028.
“Voting is already underway for the 2026 elections, but it’s clear that Callais requires Georgia to adopt new electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle,” Kemp said earlier this month.
Republicans argue the effort is aimed at restoring “race-neutral” districting principles after years of federally mandated racial balancing under Voting Rights Act litigation.
McKoon said the goal is to create districts “rooted in traditional, race-neutral principles,” including compactness and respect for county and municipal lines.
One likely target is Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop.
The district is one of the last remaining rural majority-Black congressional districts in the Deep South and has long been viewed by Republicans as vulnerable under the new Supreme Court standard.
The redistricting fight comes as Republicans across the country increasingly view the post-Callais environment as an opportunity to expand their congressional advantage ahead of the next decade of elections.
Georgia lawmakers had already redrawn maps once in 2023 after a federal judge ordered the creation of additional majority-Black districts under earlier Voting Rights Act standards. That case remains pending before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Now, however, the Supreme Court’s new precedent has significantly raised the burden for plaintiffs challenging maps on racial grounds, requiring proof of intentional discrimination rather than simply showing racial impact.
The Georgia move is part of a much broader national redistricting war now unfolding after the Supreme Court ruling.
Louisiana Republicans are already moving to redraw congressional maps after the Court struck down the state’s previous race-based district configuration.
Alabama lawmakers are also pursuing new maps, while Tennessee Republicans are attempting to eliminate the state’s lone Democratic-held congressional district.
Meanwhile, other Republican-led states, including Florida, Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio, have either already passed or proposed additional GOP-favorable maps as part of a nationwide effort to strengthen the party’s House majority heading into future election cycles.
President Donald Trump has openly encouraged Republican-controlled states to act aggressively following the Supreme Court ruling.
“We should demand that State Legislatures do what the Supreme Court says must be done,” Trump wrote recently. “This is going to help us win elections!”
Georgia Democrats immediately attacked Kemp’s decision, accusing Republicans of attempting to solidify long-term political control.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
