Georgia Republican legislative leaders reject governor's call for 2028 redistricting, ending Gov. Brian Kemp's push to redraw congressional and legislative districts during Wednesday's special session. State House Speaker Jon Burns told Kemp in a letter hours before the session began that lawmakers would not consider redistricting at all.
Burns said legislators wanted time after the Supreme Court's Louisiana v. Callais decision, which struck down Louisiana's congressional map as an illegal racial gerrymander. Kemp had asked lawmakers to redraw congressional boundaries for the 2028 election and to redraw their own districts, a plan that would have made Georgia the first state to apply that ruling to its legislature.
Jon Burns and Brian Kemp
Burns said lawmakers should focus on economic matters rather than partisan games, and he cited pending litigation over existing Georgia districts. Republican leaders also worried privately that a rushed process could diminish Black and other minority voters' political power and trigger backlash, while new lines around Atlanta could create more competitive jurisdictions that Democrats could win.
The decision leaves Kemp's request on the table for now, but Georgia Republicans did not rule out revisiting redistricting later in the year. That keeps the dispute tied to the legal fight over how far states can go in using race in district drawing, while Democrats and civil rights activists called the Supreme Court decision a victory after weeks of pressure.
Raphael Warnock at the Capitol
U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock returned to Atlanta from Washington to be at the Capitol on Wednesday as demonstrators filled the building with chants of “Black voters matter!” Warnock said, “Today showed that ordinary people don't need to wait until November to make their voices heard and protect our democracy” and “We can stand up and speak right now.”
For Georgia lawmakers, the immediate outcome is simple: no redistricting vote moved ahead on Wednesday. Any renewed push would have to come later, after the current legal and political pressure around the state's maps continues to build.
