One Democrat in the Mississippi Senate Hob Bryan of Amory represents a district that does not have a majority African American population.
Republicans hold 36 of the seats in the 52-member chamber. There are currently 14 Democrats. Two Democrats resigned this summer and special elections have not been held to replace them. Those two vacant Senate seats as well as 13 other districts represented by Democrats not named Bryan have a Black population of more than 50%.
In the coming months, as U.S. Census data comes in, legislators will begin the task of redrawing the 52 Senate districts and 122 House districts to match population shifts found by the decennial census. Legislators on the committee tasked with overseeing the drawing of both state legislative districts and the four U.S. House seats will hold nine public hearings across the state, starting at 6 p.m. Aug. 5 at Meridian Community Colleges McCain Theatre, to garner public input. Then in the 2022 session, legislators will try to complete the redistricting process.
Presumably, Republicans who control the Senate could redraw the districts in a manner to increase their numbers, but at this point that would be just running up the score.
There are past federal court precedents that would seem to prevent the Legislature from reducing the number of Black majority districts. But in recent court rulings, the federal courts particularly the U.S. Supreme Court have seemed less willing in the eyes of some to protect minority voting rights.
Still, it is safe to assume the Senate leadership would have little interest in garnering national attention by reducing the number of African American districts.
And as far as Bryan is concerned, a district in northeast Mississippi most likely could be drawn to reduce his re-election chances. But it also is unlikely the Senate leadership is inclined to do that. Most senators have at some point cursed Bryans occasional outbursts and eccentricities. At the same time, most senators, including members of the leadership, have made no secret of their respect for his intellect and knowledge of the legislative process.
Perhaps that is best exemplified by the fact that Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann placed Bryan on the committee charged with redrawing the districts.
Over in the House, the situation is much the same. There are five Democrats who represent districts that were majority white when they were drawn in 2012.
Like in the Senate, the House Republicans, who control all the power with their 76 members, could increase their numbers through redistricting to the extent they would not be blocked by federal courts, but at some point such an effort might just look like poor sportsmanship.
There are currently 40 Black members in the House.
The point being that in the redistricting after the 2010 Census there was an urgency by both Republicans and Democrats to redistrict in such a manner to ensure their respective partys control of the Legislature. That fight is over. The Republicans won, and they won big.
If Democrats had prevailed in the 2011 election and controlled redistricting in the 2012 session, they could have drawn districts in a manner to give members of their party more of a fighting chance, particularly in the House.
But House Democrats, who held the majority before they lost the 2011 election by a narrow margin, lost the ability to control the redrawing of the districts in the 2012 session. The result was Republicans drew districts where they had significant advantages. For instance, before the redrawing of the districts in 2012, when Democrats controlled the House, there were 13 House districts drawn with significant but not dominant African American influence a Black population of more than 35% but less than a majority.
Conventional wisdom has been that such districts give white Democrats the best chance to win in Mississippi. During the last redistricting, after Republicans had wrestled control, that number dropped to two districts with a Black population of more than 35% but less than a majority. In the Senate, the change went from 11 districts with a Black population of more than 35% but less than a majority to three.
In other words, Republicans did their redistricting work in 2012 to ensure their legislative dominance. Redistricting this time will be more about maintaining.
But even if Democrats had won the House in the 2011 elections, there would have been no guarantee that they could have drawn districts that would have ensured their continued control of the House. The bottom line continues to be that in Mississippi the vast majority of white people vote Republican and most African Americans vote Democrat.
And any amount of legislative redistricting will not change that voting pattern and give Democrats a fighting chance to regain control of the Mississippi Legislature in the foreseeable future.
Central to our mission at Mississippi Today is inspiring civic engagement. We think critically about how we can foster healthy dialogue between people who think differently about government and politics. We believe that conversation raw, earnest talking and listening to better understand each other is vital to the future of Mississippi. We encourage you to engage with us and each other on our social media accounts, email our reporters directly or leave a comment for our editor by clicking the button below.
Republish This Story
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
X
by Bobby Harrison, Mississippi Today August 1, 2021
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
See original here:
Will Republicans run up the score when redistricting? - Mississippi Today
- NBC's Chuck Todd Explains Why He's Changed How He Reports On Republicans - The Daily Wire [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- 'Red State Blues' Explores What Bolsters And Tempers Republicans' Success - Texas Standard [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- In leaked audio, a top Trump adviser said the Republican party has 'traditionally' relied on voter suppression - Business Insider [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- 'A rocky road': Wisconsin Republicans recap the first year of split control under Gov. Tony Evers - Madison.com [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Iowa swung fiercely to Trump. Will it swing back in 2020? - Minneapolis Star Tribune [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- In the Time of Trump, Are Republicans Crazies or Cowards? - The Daily Beast [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- How a 'legislative terrorist' conquered the Republican Party - The Week [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Republican group to run ads in target states demanding testimony from White House officials in Trump impeachment trial | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Decade in review: Justice Antonin Scalias death and the Republican delay in filling the seat - SCOTUSblog [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Republicans Are Fiscally Reckless and Irresponsible - Washington Monthly [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Fear and Loyalty: How Donald Trump Took Over the Republican Party - The New York Times [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- Blumenthal: Five to 10 Republicans have 'severe misgivings' about McConnell strategy | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: December 27th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 27th, 2019]
- House Republicans and Democratic governor feud over the Louisiana budget, again - The Advocate [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Republican governors grapple with whether to accept refugees - Press Herald [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Why Shouldnt Pelosi Try to Strong-Arm the Republicans? It Has Worked for Decades. | News and Politics - PJ Media [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Outmaneuvering the Republicans (letter) | Letters To The Editor - LancasterOnline [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Wisconsin Democrats say Republicans have made thwarting Gov. Tony Evers their priority - Madison.com [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Republicans are leaving the House at a record pace. Why? - CBS News [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- ANOTHER OPINION: Trump completes takeover of Republican Party - Goshen News [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- For evangelicals, climate change causes a split between young and old that could hurt Republicans - The Boston Globe [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Eric Hubner: Republican senators should stand up to the appeasement of Trump - Salt Lake Tribune [Last Updated On: December 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: December 28th, 2019]
- Brent Budowsky: The patriotic duty of Senate Republicans | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- 'Too personally invested': Republicans demand FISA court explain why Obama official picked to oversee reforms - Washington Examiner [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Never Trumpers flame out - POLITICO [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Republican leader who sent their child to conversion therapy says child abuse makes people gay - LGBTQ Nation [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- As Democrats resurrect carbon bill, Republicans leave all options on the table including another walkout - malheurenterprise.com [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Pen-t up anger: Republicans pounce on Pelosi over ceremonial writing tools - The Guardian [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Franklin Republican wants to make it a crime to burn symbol of liberty - The Union Leader [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Republicans vote down teacher pay boost plan - The Herald [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- How Tim Kaine convinced Republicans to vote to rein in Trump's war powers - POLITICO [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Republicans face reckoning on impeachment witnesses - POLITICO [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Matt Gaetz Is in an Internecine Beef With Another Florida Republican - Esquire.com [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Rand Paul on Senate trial: 'I don't think any Republicans are going to vote for impeachment' - msnNOW [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- 'The New York Times' Is Enabling Republican Lies - The Nation [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Trump and Republicans are courting Florida's Latinos. Democrats in the state are worried. - NBC News [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Republicans face internal brawl over impeachment witnesses | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Rand Paul threatens fellow Republicans with explosive witness votes - POLITICO [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- The Real Risks of Republicans Burying Their Heads in the Sand - The New York Times [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Abortion laws give Republican politicians what they crave control | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Republicans will pay on Election Day for politicizing Trump's impeachment | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- Nationalist 'antics' or the future of the GOP? College Republicans are at war - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: January 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 18th, 2020]
- A Few Republicans And The American Public: Democrats Target Their Impeachment Message - NPR [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Senate Republicans Are Bathed in Shame - The New York Times [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- There Were No 'Moderate Republicans' in the Senate on Tuesday. Only Collaborators. - Esquire [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- The Values We Share (or Why I Am A Republican) - The Bulwark [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Republicans are schooling us in the definition of 'chutzpah' - Cape Cod Times [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Grieder: Dan Crenshaw is right to say that Republicans cant afford to ignore climate change - Houston Chronicle [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- This Former Co-Host of 'The View' Says She Was Told To 'Act Republican' - Showbiz Cheat Sheet [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Sorry, But Democrats Have to Compromise and Republicans Don't - Mother Jones [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Flake: Republicans don't speak out against Trump 'because they want to keep their jobs' | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Republicans upping investment in Florida and other key battlegrounds - Florida Politics [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- No Republican in Congress Is Thinking Past Tomorrow's Lunch Menu - Esquire [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- DCCC to run ads tying 11 House Republicans to Trump remarks on entitlements | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- How Republicans made millions on the 2017 tax cuts they pushed through Congress - Vox.com [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Republican Senators May Save Trump, but Trump has Already F*cked Them - The Daily Beast [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Why Democrats Still Have to Appeal to the Center, but Republicans Dont - The New York Times [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Why Hillary Clinton is the world's greatest gift to Republicans - New York Post [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2020]
- Buttigieg on plan to win over Republicans: 'I'm not trying to trick anybody' - Washington Examiner [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Readers respond: Republicans must do the right thing - oregonlive.com [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Commentary: Note To Republicans- When You Are Innocent, Witnesses And Documents Should Be Welcomed - KRWG [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Equality Should Not Be A Partisan Issue: Where Do Key Republicans Stand On It? - InsiderNJ [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Republican senate candidates disagree about whether a border wall is the solution to illegal immigration - Chicago Daily Herald [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Kobe Bryant: Reaction to his tragic death; career highlights - Waterbury Republican American [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Democrats step up pressure over witnesses after Bolton bombshell | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Republicans grew our economy - and in the process, turned Arizona purple - AZCentral [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Senate Republicans have final chance to stand for country - The Daily Herald [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Managing an unruly world far and near: Q&A with Republican congressional candidate Todd Kent - Waco Tribune-Herald [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- After Trumps Acquittal, It Will Only Get Worse for Republicans - Yahoo News [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Senate Republicans push back on calls for more impeachment witnesses - POLITICO [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2020]
- Trump Boasts That Republican Lawmakers Have Turned Him Into A King - PoliticusUSA [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Meet the Candidate She's aiming to be the next Republican Jewish woman in Congress - Jewish Insider [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- 'What Have We Become?' New Republican Video Rips Trump Revenge On Lt. Col. Vindman - HuffPost [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Why Democrats And Republicans May Make The Best Teammates At Work - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Anderson: Why the Democrats - and Republicans - are doomed - The Ledger [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Democrats and Republicans agree on this: Social Security and Medicare need help and soon - MarketWatch [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Trump struggles to win over Republicans on immigration - POLITICO [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- The Democratic Party Is Collapsing. Just Like the Republican Party Did. - The Bulwark [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Republicans Think President Trump Had Every Right To Fire Government Officials Who Testified Against Him - BuzzFeed News [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- With Republicans, the best is yet to come - Youngstown Vindicator [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]
- Washington-Based Republican Partnership Supports Non-Sitting Candidate In Iowa Race For First Time - 1380 KCIM [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2020]