Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday that he would not call a special legislative session to redraw the state’s congressional maps before Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms assumes office in January.
Kemp, a Republican who has clashed with President Donald Trump in recent years, tried to push for the state to redraw its congressional map earlier this year. The effort was ultimately rejected by the state legislature, with lawmakers citing pending legal cases against Republican redistricting pushes in other states.
Party leaders, however, did not rule out revisiting the issue later in the year, according to The Associated Press.
“I will not be calling a special session of the Georgia General Assembly in order to curtail executive branch powers or debate redistricting changes,” Kemp said in a statement shared with The Washington Sun Wednesday. He added that there are “budgetary issues that may need to be addressed before” Bottoms takes office.
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Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia) described Kemp’s decision as a “wise choice” in an interview with Politico on Wednesday.
Even without redrawing the maps, Georgia Republicans held an expected advantage heading into Election Day — one that failed to materialize amid a once-in-a-generation blue wave that knocked out previously safe-seat Republicans from coast to coast.
It remains unclear if Kemp spoke with state lawmakers before making his Wednesday announcement. Georgia’s Republican House majority leader, Chuck Efstration, and Senate Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bottoms’ win over billionaire businessman Rick Jackson in the Georgia governor’s race upended more than two decades of Republican control of the governorship in Georgia.
Kemp congratulated Bottoms, as well as Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia), on a “hard-fought win” in a separate statement posted on X, where he appeared to call on Republicans to turn back to more traditional conservative values.
“Republicans now have the opportunity, and responsibility, to heed the will of voters and learn from last night’s results,” Kemp wrote. “I firmly believe the conservative principles of our party lead to greater freedom, security, and prosperity for all Americans—and it’s time we get back to those principles in the months and years to come.”
Kemp has broken with Trump in the past. Most notably, Kemp and other state leaders faced Trump’s fury when they refused to help overturn the results of the 2020 election after Trump claimed without evidence that widespread voter fraud had helped former President Joe Biden capture the state.
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