OAN Staff Lillian Mann
4:27 PM – Thursday, April 30, 2026
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has announced that Georgia will not redraw its congressional map ahead of the May 19th primary, diverging from some fellow Republicans in other states who have resisted calls to delay upcoming primaries.
Kemp (R-Ga.) declined to cancel the primary or redraw congressional maps following a Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act, a decision that has fueled a broader Republican-led push to redraw districts across the South.
He made it clear that he would not be apart of the efforts, but did commend the court’s ruling, noting that it would shift future Georgia elections.
“Voting is already underway for the 2026 elections,” he added, meaning changes to the maps would not be possible this year.
Kemp emphasized that any changes to the maps wouldn’t happen in the next few weeks or months, causing too much turmoil for voters with the election weeks away.
However, Kemp praised the Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday.
“The Supreme Court’s decision Louisiana v. Callais restores fairness to our redistricting process and allows states to pass electoral maps that reflect the will of the voters, not the will of federal judges,” he said.
Kemp recognized that the ruling would still impact Georgia’s elections in the future, however.
“It’s clear that Callais requires Georgia to adopt new electoral maps before the 2028 election cycle,” he added.
Kemp’s decision comes in the wake of Governor Jeff Landry’s (R-La.) move to suspend six House primaries in Louisiana, following a landmark Supreme Court ruling that invalidated race-based redistricting under a provision of the Voting Rights Act.
In a 6-3 ruling on Wednesday, the court’s GOP majority found that Louisiana’s second majority- Black congressional district, represented by Cleo Fields (D-La.), relied too heavily on race.
“Because the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create an additional majority-minority district, no compelling interest justified the state’s use of race in creating SB8,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote, referring to the map. “That map is an unconstitutional gerrymander, and its use would violate the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights.”
The Supreme Court’s rejection of a Louisiana map creating a second majority-Black district has triggered Republican calls for further last-minute redistricting in Southern states.
“These new maps must prioritize traditional redistricting principles—contiguity, compactness, respect for political subdivisions, and communities of interest—without the distorting influence of racial targets,” Georgia Republican Chairman Josh McCoon wrote. “Georgians deserve districts that unite neighbors, preserve local communities, and ensure every vote counts equally.”
Furthermore, the decision led Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R-La.) to order his state’s upcoming primaries to be canceled just days before early voting was set to begin, in order to redraw the congressional maps.
Speaking after the ruling, Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) said that he wouldn’t be in Congress without the Voting Rights Act and slammed the Supreme Court’s decision as a blow for racial justice.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision marks a profound defeat for American democracy and will pave the way for partisan politicians to pick their voters,” Warnock said. “For decades, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has protected fair and equal representation in our democratic process. With this decision, coupled with the continued erosion of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, the voice of the American people has never been squeezed further from our democratic discourse.”
The redistricting cycle originally was ignited by President Donald Trump as he urged Texas Republicans to redraw their lines. Both Democrat and Republican states, including Florida, North Carolina, California, and Virginia, responded similarly, producing a near-even change in seats.
Representative Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) called the ruling “another step away from the promise of equal representation.”
“It’s clear that Republicans, carrying the water for Donald Trump, are doing anything possible to take power while gutting the voting power of millions of Americans who would hold them accountable,” Williams said. “We have fought this before, and we will fight this again to protect our fundamental right to vote and elect leaders who truly represent us.”
Tennessee is also considering a GOP-led redistricting plan to eliminate its only Democrat House seat, an idea Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) raised before President Trump weighed in.
In a Truth Social post, Trump vowed that Governor Bill Lee (R-Tenn.) “would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee.”
If successful, Trump said, the effort would secure Republicans “one additional seat.”
Tennessee Republicans currently have an 8-1 edge in the state’s House delegation.
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