Republican Mississippi Sen. John Polk Retires After Court-Ordered Redistricting to Increase Black Voting Power

Sen. John Polk, a Republican from Hattiesburg, Miss., who has served the residents of Mississippi Senate District 44 since 2012, is retiring from the Mississippi Senate after lawmakers redrew his district following a court order. The Senate honored his time in the Legislature with two resolutions.

The senator said he was emotional as he spoke to “over 50 people that I love” on the Senate floor on April 3.

“I’m going to go home, and I’m going to be a regular old citizen,” he said on April 3. “And that’s a good thing to be, especially when I know that there are you, the Senate of Mississippi, who has the best interest of our state at heart. You’re methodical, you’re wise, you’re thoughtful, there’s no knee jerk. We do things right, and I trust each one of you with my future, my children’s future and my grandchildren’s future. Thank you for letting me serve with you for 14 years. It’s been the best 14 of my life.”

The Legislature had to redraw its House and Senate districts after a federal court ruled that the existing districts do not give enough voting power to Black Mississippians. That plan moves Polk into the newly redrawn minority-majority Senate District 45, which would’ve pitted him against District 45 incumbent Sen. Chris Johnson, R-Hattiesburg, in a Republican primary had he chosen to run again.

The 2025 proposal for Senate District 45 includes Forrest and Lamar counties in the district, with 10 precincts from Forrest County and six from Lamar County. Under the 2022 map, Senate District 45 has some of Forrest County’s precincts and all of Perry County’s precincts.

The Senate commended Polk’s time in the Legislature with Senate Resolution 152 on April 3. The senator was born in Columbia, Miss., attended Prentiss High School in Prentiss, Miss., and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Polk has worked at the executive level of his family’s business, Polk Meat Products, for many years. In the Mississippi Senate, he was the chairman of the Senate Business and Financial Institutions Committee, which governs the banking industry, and the vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The senator served on several other committees throughout his time at the Capitol, including the Senate Medicaid Committee, the Senate Education Committee and the Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee.

During the 2025 legislative session, Polk cosponsored the Senate’s tax reform bill, Senate Bill 3095; dozens of appropriations bills; and a bill to allow online, remote notarization, Senate Bill 2456, among many others. He also cosponsored Senate Bill 2845, which would require the State to suspend a business’ permit to sell alcohol, beer or light wine if the premises of the business have been the setting of two violent deaths and revote on the permit if three violent deaths occur. All of those bills died on deadline days.

Last year, Polk introduced a controversial bill that would have required three Mississippi universities to close, but that bill failed. He also killed an effort to restore Mississippi’s ballot initiative system in 2023, saying at the time that he feared Mississippians would use it to repeal the state’s right-to-work law.

Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, commended Polk for his years of work in the Senate, calling him “Dr. No” in reference to Polk’s firm opposition to certain pieces of legislation.

“I can’t say enough about ‘Dr. No.’ Sen. Polk is a friend to all of us. Every one of us in this chamber has enjoyed working with him. Of course, he’ll be back during the special session, but when we did this, we didn’t know we were going to have a special session, Senator. But we wanted to make sure, just in case you decided to go on vacation or something or retire early, we want to make sure that you were recognized. We appreciate everything that you’ve done,” Kirby said on the Senate floor on April 3.

Earlier this year, Polk made headlines for a verbal back-and-forth with Mississippi State Auditor Shad White, who chastised him and other lawmakers for not holding hearings on Mississippi’s massive welfare scandal since it became public in 2020.

Gov. Tate Reeves and Mississippi National Guard Adjutant General Bobby M. Ginn, Jr., awarded Polk with the Mississippi Meritorious Civilian Service Medal for outstanding achievements during his service with the state’s National Guard. The award is the highest achievement under the Mississippi National Guard. The Senate recognized Polk’s accolades by adopting Senate Resolution 123 on March 25.

“As Mississippi Senator from District 44 under your leadership, the Mississippi Legislature has provided unprecedented levels of support and opportunity to the soldiers, airmen, families and civilians of the Mississippi National Guard by fostering a partnership and investing in those who serve,” the resolution quotes Ginn saying. “Your dedication to duty and professional expertise have contributed to a stronger military. Your professionalism brings great credit to yourself, the Senate of Mississippi, the Mississippi National Guard, and the United States Armed Forces.”