The Joint Redistricting and Reapportionment Committee, comprised of House members and senators, met at the state Capitol for the first time since the Supreme Court ruling. He told Mississippi Today in a statement that the committee’s redistricting process is “putting lipstick on a pig.” “No number of meetings or public hearings will change that fact. If the joint committee truly cared about what the public wants, it would end this sham process before it begins.” Thompson told Mississippi Today on Saturday that his campaign team will be monitoring the hearings and hopes state lawmakers will truly be receptive to the comments they gather from the public hearings.