Georgia Republican lawmakers unexpectedly kill GOP redistricting push

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) got a tough lesson Wednesday just hours before the state legislature was supposed to convene for a redistricting special session he called: Life comes at you fast.

At the last minute, Republican lawmakers shot it down. In a stunning letter to Kemp, Georgia House Republican leadership said they “will not be taking up congressional or legislative redistricting for the 2028 election cycle during this special session.”

The letter was signed by eight House Republicans, including Speaker Jon Burns. The group appeared to take issue with what would likely have been a rushed redistricting process, and also cited pending legal cases as another reason for their refusal to go along with Kemp’s plan. 

Kemp had called on Georgia lawmakers to convene for a special session to redraw congressional and state legislative maps for the 2028 election cycle, making him the latest Southern governor to take steps to eliminate Black political representation in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s  Louisiana v. Callais ruling, which gutted the Voting Rights Act.

The House GOP had other ideas. 

“[T]he House has always conducted redistricting with considerable time for public input and with careful attention to constitutional requirements and the interests of every Georgia community,” the letter said. “Since this process has the potential to impact every voter, it deserves the same responsible, fact-driven approach that guides every policy we consider as lawmakers, especially as we seek to understand the full implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais.”

Georgia won’t be the first state this summer where Republicans declined to quickly ram a gerrymander through the legislature. That honor goes to South Carolina, which last month dropped its redistricting bid, despite pressure from President Donald Trump.

But it is likely the first where the GOP claimed their retreat was based on the need for public input and a measured legal approach. 

Since Trump called on red states to quickly redistrict in favor of the GOP last year, multiple Republican-controlled legislatures have rushed through gerrymanders in a blatant bid to outrun public input and opposition.

Even before Wednesday, there were signs that the redistricting effort in Georgia wasn’t going according to Kemp’s plan.

Some Georgia Republicans worried that redrawing the maps would energize Democratic voters, making GOP candidates more vulnerable in upcoming elections, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday.

A day earlier, billionaire Rick Jackson defeated Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Republican governor primary runoff, limiting Jones’ ability to wrangle support for the measure in the state Senate, where he also serves as president.

Jones commented Wednesday that he still supports the governor’s plan, arguing that Georgia Republicans “owe it to the voters” to redistrict.

And Democrats were clearly ramping up for a major fight. Opponents and state Democratic leaders had already packed the Georgia capitol building Wednesday ahead of the proceedings, carrying signs urging lawmakers to “protect Black voters” and “say no to Jim Crow.”

Unlike in Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee — three Southern states that raced to gerrymander in the weeks since the Callais ruling — it appears Georgia Republicans weren’t willing to take the risk for now.