The Tennessee Legislature has passed a new congressional map designed to eliminate the state’s sole Democratic-held U.S. House seat. Republican Governor Bill Lee is expected to sign the measure into law shortly.
The revised districting plan fractures Memphis’s current representative, Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., across three districts, dispersing Democratic voters into rural, Republican-leaning areas spanning hundreds of miles eastward. It also subdivides Nashville’s metropolitan region into five distinct districts. The sprawling boundaries intentionally link voters from disparate geographic regions, media markets, and time zones to achieve partisan outcomes.
State lawmakers convened a special session this week to finalize the map ahead of Tennessee’s August 6 primaries. The state House approved the proposal without any Republican defense during debate. When one legislator attempted to speak, gallery spectators began loud chanting that prompted the house speaker to adjourn the vote as Democratic members exited the chamber.
“ healing Memphis,” stated state Sen. London Lamar, a Memphis Democrat, according to Tennessee Lookout. “Racism doesn’t become less racist just because it’s called partisan.”
Tennessee concluded its regular legislative session on April 23 but triggered an emergency meeting after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on April 29 invalidated a Voting Rights Act provision requiring historically discriminatory states like Tennessee to create majority-minority districts. The court has consistently upheld that partisan motivations for redistricting are legally permissible under current rulings.
Former President Trump’s directives prompted the redistricting effort, which aligns with broader national trends where at least nine states have enacted gerrymandered congressional maps this year. State Sen. John Stevens, a Republican from Huntingdon, described the Tennessee map as ensuring “our congressional delegation reflects that [conservative] identity” and maximizing “partisan advantage.”