Mississippi legislators begin their three-month session on Tuesday with a clear idea of several issues that will come up for debate.
One of the first orders of business will be adopting a plan to redraw the state’s four U.S. House districts, expanding the majority-Black 2nd District because it has lost population during the past decade.
The lone Democrat in Mississippi’s congressional delegation, Rep. Bennie Thompson, wanted his district to grow by encompassing all of Hinds County. Instead, the plan advanced by a Republican-led redistricting committee will stretch the 2nd District farther south along the Mississippi River and allow Republican Rep. Michael Guest to keep affluent areas of northeastern Hinds County in the 3rd District.