Tennessee governor approves new map eliminating state’s lone Democratic seat
Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed a new congressional map into law Thursday that carves up Memphis and gives the GOP an advantage in winning all nine of the state’s seats in Congress. The bill quickly passed the state’s legislature earlier in the day.
It’s a rapid redistricting push launched just days after the Supreme Court weakened part of the Voting Rights Act. The new map splits Shelby County, which includes Memphis, into three congressional districts. It also eliminates the state’s only majority-Black district, currently represented by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis.
Legal challenges likely
Cohen told the Memphis Commercial Appeal on Thursday that he will file a lawsuit seeking to keep the new districts from taking effect this year.
“We’ve been campaigning hard since the filing deadline in March, but since really October,” Cohen told the newspaper. “And that’s a First Amendment violation. There will be a lawsuit in state court. I will be a plaintiff, among others. If that’s effective, Congress District 9, as it’s been now, the majority-minority district, will continue to 2028.”
The state’s congressional primaries are scheduled for Aug. 6.
Republicans defend new map
State House Speaker Cameron Sexton was among the Republicans who defended the new maps.
“The Supreme Court has opined that redistricting, like the judicial system, should be color-blind,” he wrote on X. “The decision indicated states can redistrict based off partisan politics.”
The bill also repealed a Tennessee law limiting congressional redistricting to once each decade after the census, allowing lawmakers to redraw maps whenever they choose.
Under the new lines, Memphis no longer sits inside a single congressional district. The map stretches the current Ninth District eastward while dividing large portions of Shelby County among neighboring Republican-leaning districts.
Republicans say the redraw aligns Tennessee with other states revisiting congressional maps after the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map last week.
Democrats accuse GOP of targeting Memphis voters
Democrats and voting-rights advocates say the map is designed to dismantle Black voting power in Memphis and lock in Republican control of the state’s congressional delegation.
Protesters gathered at the Tennessee Capitol throughout the week, with demonstrators interrupting hearings Wednesday before state troopers removed several people from committee rooms.
State Rep. Justin Pearson, a Memphis Democrat running for Congress, accused Republican leaders of conducting the process “completely in secrecy” and said the map was designed to benefit specific Republican candidates.
“What is deeply disturbing is that they have made a map to allow for one particular candidate that they want to win who has spewed racism and hate all across this state, particularly in Memphis,” Pearson said.
Cohen, the Democratic congressman whose Memphis-based district was redrawn, called the bill “a blatant, corrupt power grab” that would weaken Memphis’ voice in Washington.
The redistricting would also affect Middle Tennessee districts, benefiting Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, whose district would no longer include parts of Democratic-leaning Nashville.
More states weigh new congressional maps
Tennessee is among several Republican-led Southern states moving to revisit congressional maps after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Louisiana has delayed House primaries while lawmakers draft a replacement map, and Republican officials in Alabama and South Carolina are weighing similar changes.
Round out your reading
- First, it was the schools. Now they’re coming for your cellphone at work.
- Why one of America’s top economic forecasters is worried about a recession.
- AI companies may not be adhering to their own guidelines — with potentially deadly outcomes.
- Data centers are a thorny issue for Democrats. Maine shows us why.
- We’re building a new Straight Arrow. Help us shape our future by taking our survey.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
