Tennessee Passes Congressional Map Erasing Democratic District
Tennessee Republicans passed a new congressional map Thursday that carves up the majority-Black Memphis district into three parts, eliminating the state's lone Democratic-held seat.
Objective Facts
Tennessee Republicans on Thursday passed a new congressional map that would crack Shelby County — home to majority-Black Memphis — into three different districts, in an effort to eliminate the state's lone remaining Democratic-held seat. Gov. Bill Lee called a special legislative session, targeting the 9th Congressional District held by Democrat Steve Cohen. Earlier Thursday, Tennessee Gov. Lee signed a bill that repealed a state law prohibiting mid-decade redistricting. The redrawn district lines, which Gov. Bill Lee signed into law, put Republicans in position to gain a seat in this fall's midterm elections and secure full control over Tennessee's congressional delegation. The new map comes in response to last week's U.S. Supreme Court's redistricting ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act. Cohen said Thursday he will file a lawsuit against the new map.
Left-Leaning Perspective
Common Dreams reported that Republicans in the Tennessee House voted Thursday to adopt a new congressional map that would carve up the state's lone majority-Black district amid raucous protests, with the special session called at the behest of President Donald Trump, whose aggressive gerrymandering push was supercharged by the US Supreme Court's decision gutting the 1965 Voting Rights Act's protections against racial discrimination. State Rep. Justin Pearson, a Memphis Democrat, called the new district maps "racist tools of white supremacy." While the House was debating, state Rep. Justin Jones, a Democrat from Nashville, handed Republican Majority Leader William Lamberth a Confederate flag printed on a piece of paper saying "We will not go back, because you are trying to bring us back to the Confederacy." Rep. Steve Cohen argued "it's hard to contemplate how much harm the General Assembly has done to the voice of Black voters in Tennessee" and stated that "the fact that each of these new districts was drawn to divide almost exactly into thirds the Black voting population of the 9th District suggests serious racist and unethical intent and raises legal issues about the use of race being the true predominant factor in this redistricting effort." Democratic State Sen. London Lamar said the map "diminishes Memphis" and that "Racism doesn't become less racist just because it's called partisan," noting that the special session came after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a provision in the Voting Rights Act requiring states with a history of racial discrimination to draw majority-minority districts. Left-leaning coverage focused on how state lawmakers asked the White House to help resolve a dispute over two versions of the new map, while the state's sole Democratic congressman Steve Cohen continued to cling to the hope of a lawsuit to save his seat. Left outlets emphasized that Democrats noted the state Supreme Court in April 2022 rejected a challenge to the current congressional map finding it was too close to the election to make changes, and that this year there's even less time before the Aug. 6 primary, raising confusion for candidates and voters.
Right-Leaning Perspective
NPR reported that Republican State Representative Jason Zachary said the maps "will reflect the overall state's conservative bent" and that "this map was drafted based on politics, based on population and the opportunity for the first time in history to us to send an entire Republican delegation from Tennessee to represent the state in Washington, D.C." NPR also noted that Tennessee GOP lawmakers defended the new map, saying their goal is partisan, to send an all-Republican delegation to Washington, D.C. State Sen. John Stevens was direct about the political purpose, stating "We are attempting to maximize the chances that the congressional delegation of Tennessee will maintain a Republican majority of the U.S. House of Representatives. That is our intent." Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton maintained the new districts were drawn based on population and politics, not racial data, while Republican state Senator John Stevens said legislators in states across the country regularly draw congressional maps to benefit their parties, a process known as gerrymandering. Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton wrote on social platform X that "The Supreme Court has opined that redistricting, like the judicial system, should be color-blind. The decision indicated states can redistrict based off partisan politics." Dr. Carol Swail, a former Vanderbilt University law and political science professor, defended the plan, saying "I think that the plan that's been put forth is not a racist plan," and pointed to Memphis' current congressman Steve Cohen as an example for why the issue is not about race, noting "It's had a white representative, and this is an opportunity for a black Republican to get elected."
Deep Dive
The Tennessee map represents the latest state to scramble to improve Republicans' fortunes following President Trump's urging of GOP-led states to redraw their maps before this fall's midterm elections. Tennessee is the first state to pass a new congressional map after the U.S. Supreme Court last week weakened the Voting Rights Act's protections against racial discrimination in redistricting. The Supreme Court's April 29 Louisiana v. Callais decision eliminated a key protection that had previously required states with histories of racial discrimination to consider minority voting strength when drawing districts. Republicans correctly note that Democrats nationally engage in partisan redistricting—Senator John Stevens cited Illinois and Massachusetts—and the Supreme Court has indeed clarified that purely partisan motives for redistricting are constitutional. However, Democrat Sen. Jeff Yarbro documented specific racial disparities: District 9 takes 270,000 Memphis residents with 70% Black population, but District 8 takes 440,000 with only 27% Black, while 72% of white population is consolidated in one district and 75% of Black population is carved into two. The factual question is whether these precise splits are mathematically inevitable for partisan optimization or reflect intentional racial targeting. Rep. Cohen said he will file a lawsuit against the new map, which will likely center on whether partisan motivation and racial effect can be meaningfully separated. Tennessee becomes the ninth state to enact a new congressional map ahead of the midterms, with Republicans potentially picking up 14 seats nationally through this campaign, while Democrats could gain 10, though several maps still face litigation. The immediate question is whether courts will allow the map to take effect for the August 6 primary, or whether its rushed passage so close to elections will trigger intervention. In the old Memphis District 9, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen faced a primary challenge from state Rep. Justin Pearson, both of whom are now running for the new, radically redrawn districts.