diff --git a/emacs/notmuch.el b/emacs/notmuch.el
index 95770fc3..132e7724 100644
--- a/emacs/notmuch.el
+++ b/emacs/notmuch.el
@@ -994,11 +994,7 @@ the configured default sort order."
     (if no-display
 	(set-buffer buffer)
       (pop-to-buffer-same-window buffer))
-    ;; avoid wiping out third party buffer-local variables in the case
-    ;; where we're just refreshing or changing the sort order of an
-    ;; existing search results buffer
-    (unless (eq major-mode 'notmuch-search-mode)
-      (notmuch-search-mode))
+    (notmuch-search-mode)
     ;; Don't track undo information for this buffer
     (set 'buffer-undo-list t)
     (set 'notmuch-search-query-string query)