April 15, 2025 – A federal three-judge panel Tuesday evening ruled that the Mississippi State Legislature needs to go back to the drawing board, redraw Senate district boundaries affecting DeSoto County, and do it quickly.
The 18-page ruling in the lawsuit between the State Election Commissioners and the Mississippi NAACP can be considered a win for state Sen. Michael McLendon (R-Hernando), who faced being sent to a new minority-majority district and was likely to run against an incumbent Democratic opponent.
The decision could also be favorable to the City of Hernando and the DeSoto County Board of Supervisors, who opposed the districts mapped out and approved by the Senate. They became actively involved in opposing the legislative mapping that left the State Capitol this session.
The state NAACP won a 2022 federal lawsuit against the State Election Commissioners that ruled legislative maps under required redistricting kept Black voters from having equivalent opportunities for Black representation in the Legislature. The DeSoto County area was cited in the lawsuit as one area of the state where Blacks were not being given a fair chance to have Blacks represent them in the House and Senate.
The 2025 legislative session was tasked by the lawsuit decision to redraw districts to satisfy the court order and the Senate thought the task was completed. Instead, the NAACP balked at three areas, Senate districts in DeSoto County and Hattiesburg, and a House plan in Chickasaw County.
But Tuesday’s ruling said, “We gave the Mississippi Legislature an opportunity to remedy those violations by drawing new maps in three geographic interest areas. The Legislature accepted that invitation, but Plaintiffs object to the results. We find that the new maps remedy the violations except as to the Senate districts in the DeSoto County interest area.”
Seeing the proposal in the Legislature would divide Hernando into separate districts and make two incumbents run against each other in special elections this year, McLendon went about proposing an amendment map which he said would satisfy the requirements of the lawsuit ruling while keeping Henrnando in one district. City officials and the county Board of Supervisors gave their support. Supervisors obtained legal counsel to lead their direction and the city Board of Aldermen passed a resolution to the Legislature against the plan.
McLendon’s amendment map was turned away during debate on the floor and the map approved by the Senate was the one the judges Tuesday said still didn’t satisfy Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act for DeSoto County.
In a text to DeSoto County News after the ruling, McLendon offered this statement:
“In short: A three-judge federal panel ruled today that the Senate redistricting map I fought like hell against — the same one (Lt. Gov.) Delbert (Hosemann) pushed so hard to pass — must be redrawn within 7 DAYS! Turns out, my map, and my warning about how this redistricting would hurt DeSoto County, were spot on. People (and even judges) are finally seeing it! Let’s hope the new map is not a repeat of the last one. And this is exactly why we need real fighters in office!”
McLendon added Gov. Tate Reeves had called him about his amendment map voted down on the Senate floor. Reeves, Hosemann, Secretary of State Michael Watson and Attorney General Lynn Fitch must submit a new map to be considered in the seven-day time frame the ruling requires.
How the ruling Tuesday changes, if at all, the election schedule for special elections that must take place in those districts affected by the ruling, is not clear.
“The timeline for that is tight,” the judges wrote. “We remain committed to special elections in November. But as noted during oral argument, allowing Defendants to submit competing maps will necessarily require an opportunity for Plaintiffs to respond. We need not address all that now, but, if necessary, the Court may be forced to order a revised pre-election schedule.”
