Two north MS House districts removed in newly proposed legislative map
Mar. 28—JACKSON — Mississippi lawmakers adopted new legislative districts for themselves that drastically altered two House districts in north Mississippi, but preserved Republican dominance in both chambers of the Capitol.
The joint redistricting committee on Sunday voted to approve new maps that redrew Rep. Chris Brown, R-Nettleton, and Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Charleston, out of their current districts.
Brown is the representative for District 20, which encompasses Itawamba, Lee and Monroe counties. That district was absorbed into different counties to make up for population loss in that area and used to create a new district in DeSoto County, meaning that Northeast Mississippi will lose a seat in the House.
Brown told the Daily Journal that he would not run for re-election in 2023, which he informed House leadership about earlier this year.
"I feel like 12 years is long enough," Brown said. "I've enjoyed my time here, though."
Reynold has served for over 40 years and is an institution at the Capitol. He is the representative from District 33, which contains portions of Grenada, Tallahatchie and Yalobusha counties. He was noncommittal on Sunday when asked if he would run for re-election or retire from state politics.
"I have the best grandchildren in the state," Reynolds said. "I'm going to consider all options, but I have some family considerations to think about."
His district was largely split up between District 34, which Kevin Horan represents, and District 23, which Jim Beckett represents. House leaders decided to do away with that district to create a new one in Harrison County.
DeSoto and Harrison counties have experienced a tremendous surge in population within the last decade.
Rep. Charles Beckett, R-Bruce, and Sen. Dean Kriby R-Pearl, led the redistricting committee and said they met with nearly every lawmaker individually, and almost all of them were satisfied with their new districts.
Beckett said some legislators may be unhappy about their new districts, but the reality is some districts had to be moved to account for population shifts.
"In this whole process, it's the reality of where you live," Beckett said. "If you take the three areas in this state that are really growing, it's DeSoto County, the coast and the Madison and Rankin County areas."
Changes in the House
In the House, Lee County will now be represented by four House members instead of five, now that Brown's district has been redrawn. If re-elected, the members who would continue to represent Lee County are Shane Aguirre of Tupelo, Randy Boyd of Mantachie, Jerry Turner of Baldwyn and Rickey Thompson of Shannon.
Most of the Lee County delegation said they were pleased with their new districts, except for Boyd, a Republican.
Boyd told the Daily Journal that he believes core parts of his district were removed, leaving him right on the boundaries of his new area.
"They took out some of the heart of my district," Boyd said. "I may just vote against it."
Changes in the Senate
Senators in Northeast Mississippi, on the other hand, were largely satisfied with their districts, and nearly all of them will retain districts similar to their previous boundaries.
Only two senators will now represent Lee County. Currently, three senators represent the county: Ben Suber of Bruce, Chad McMahan of Guntown and Hob Bryan of Amory.
Now, only Bryan, a Democrat, and McMahan, a Republican, will represent the county, if both are re-elected.
"I'm all good with the district," McMahan said.
"This is largely the same district that I've had the past 10 years," Bryan said of his new district. "The people in this area have been good to me since I've been in office, and I hope they'll be good to me in 2023."
Even though Suber, a Republican, dropped Lee County from his district, he will cover more of a geographic footprint. His newly proposed district would encompass parts of Lafayette, all of Chickasaw, all of Calhoun, all of Yalobusha, and part of Pontotoc counties.
"I'm satisfied with it," Suber said. "But, man, it's a long district."
Legislature must adopt maps for 2023 elections
The state constitution and state law requires the Legislature to adopt new legislative districts every 10 years to account for population shifts around the state.
Even though Gov. Tate Reeves made public remarks on social media about the redistricting process on Sunday, he has no official role in the legislative redistricting process.
Legislative districts are decided by a joint resolution. Now that the joint committee approved the proposed maps, the full Senate and House will soon have the option to vote on them.
If adopted, these will be the new maps that voters will elect their lawmakers from during the 2023 statewide election cycle.
