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Posted on 05/06/2026 9:55:24 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Tennessee lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled a proposal for a new congressional map that would heavily favor Republicans this November by splitting up the state’s sole Democratic district.
The map would put a target on Rep. Steve Cohen, who represents the state’s only majority-Black district and is the lone Democrat among Tennessee’s nine House members.
Memphis, which is currently contained in Cohen’s district, would be divided into three parts under the proposal.
The proposal comes amid a renewed push from President Trump for GOP state lawmakers to move forward with mid-decade redistricting.
Trump and Republicans scored a victory last week when the Supreme Court declared Louisiana’s congressional map an illegal gerrymander and ordered the state to redraw its lines, putting at least one of the state’s two Democratic seats in jeopardy.
Tennessee lawmakers are gathering at the state Capitol on Wednesday to consider the proposal.
“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,” Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) wrote in a post on the social platform X, along with the new map, depicted in red.
“Today, Tennessee joins other red and blue states in redrawing their congressional maps,” he continued.
The GOP redistricting push has met fierce resistance from Democratic lawmakers and activists in the state.
“This is insane. The GOP’s newly proposed TN Congressional maps would have people in Shelby County all the way to Williamson County—200+ miles apart—being ‘represented’ by the same Congressman,” Cohen said in a post on the social platform X, in response to the new map proposal.
“It’s a blatant, corrupt power grab that would destroy the Black community’s and our entire city’s voice,” the Democratic congressman continued.
As the Tennessee Senate State and Local Government Committee gathered to consider two bills related to redistricting — including legislation to repeal the 56-year prohibition on mid-decade redistricting — protesters packed into the hearing room, chanting, “No new maps!” and “Hands off Memphis!”
Sekou Franklin, political action chair for the Tennessee State Conference NAACP, testified before the committee, arguing against the proposal, which he said is “racially discriminatory, unconstitutional and undermines existing election administration system.”
“If enacted, the proposed plan will be the most devastating attack on the Voting Rights Act, both the letter and the spirit of the law, in modern Tennessee history,” he told the committee. “Simply put, the proposal is something that we have not seen before, and it has no precedent in modern America.”
Franklin noted Tennessee’s map differs from majority-minority districts in other states that were drawn under court orders protecting Black voting rights. He argued Tennessee’s majority-Black district evolved organically because Memphis naturally has a large Black population.
“The ninth district is not a politically engineered district or drawn under the mandate of a federal court order. It is an organic congressional district, naturally emerging by virtue of location, geography and shared interests,” he said.
A repeal of a 1970s ban on mid-decade redistricting passed out of committee, 6-2, with one senator passing.
The second bill would create a temporary framework for administering elections if district lines are changed after the candidate qualifying deadline has passed. A separate hearing is expected to consider the proposed map itself.
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Republican lawmakers said the corresponding legislation for the proposed map “modernizes Tennessee’s redistricting process by removing racial data from the mapmaking process entirely,”
Even if the district looks like an upside-down U in that map, the current map is worse!
Now I’m going from the 7th to either the 8th or 9th district.
Seems like an odd way to divide the map. The east side looks pretty good, but the west looks really weird.
Approved. Next!
THis map is as gerrymandered as the state maps we want to get rid of. I would not support this redistrcting.
Districts should be compact and maintain existing governement subdivisions as possible (ie. cities and towns). This map does the oppostire on both fronts.
No…wait…
Exactly.
I agree with you in theory, but the theory is cold comfort to the 40% of the electorate which is republican in the New England states, where the aggregate delegation of the states is D-19, R-0. I think Republicans in Illinois have an opinion on the issue as well
I agree with you in theory, but the theory is cold comfort to the 40% of the electorate which is republican in the New England states, where the aggregate delegation of the states is D-19, R-0
They need to get off their asses and do something about it.
You seem happy, so let me push you over the line into giddy: what goes underappreciated is WHO is going to get axed. Jasmine Crockett is out because she lost the Senate primary, but likely would have lost in her new district anyway. Likewise, everyone’s favorite maniac, Al Green, is in real trouble. I understand James Clyburn, who gifted us the Biden presidency, is in trouble under the potential changes in SC, and likewise Bennie Thompson in Mississippi. Getting rid of these tumors in the body politic is just too yummy a prospect.
Oh it would be SO DAMN WONDERFUL to NEVER see that jackass Cohen again, EVER!
Hakeem Jose Jefferies Sanchez Escobar couldn't be reached for comment.
I’d rather they get rid of Robert Garcia and Jamie Haskins who are 1000 times worse than those mentioned. add in that weird Indian guy who has impeachment papers for trump practically every day.
As CURRENTLY configured...
California: 52 DEM, 7 REP, 1 IND
Colorado: 5 DEM, 0 REP
Connecticut: 5 DEM, 0 REP
Delaware: 1 DEM, 0 REP
Hawaii: 2 DEM, 0 REP
Illinois: 14 DEM, 3 REP
Maine: 2 DEM, 0 REP
Maryland: 7 DEM, 1 REP
Massachusetts: 9 DEM, 0 REP
New Hampshire: 2 DEM, 0 REP
New Jersey: 9 DEM, 3 REP
New Mexico: 3 DEM, 0 REP
New York: 19 DEM, 7 REP
Oklahoma: 5 DEM, 1 REP
Oregon: 5 DEM, 1 REP
Rhode Island: 2 DEM, 0 REP
Washington: 8 DEM, 2 REP
150 Democrats in just 16 states -- almost 3/4ths of the Democrat delegation in the House.
HA HA HA HA. Welcome to redistricting, New England style Democrats. How ya like it?
Nope! Red states should be districted for maximum partisan advantage just like Blue states are.
Fight fire with fire. The Dems have no qualms about redistricting to favor themselves. The GOP shouldn’t either. What’s the purpose of having a political party if you are unwilling to take advantage of the power to increase your chances of winning an election. That is exactly what a political party is in existence for, otherwise they should just roll over and let the Dems run wild..........
“ Sekou Franklin, political action chair for the Tennessee State Conference NAACP”
In other words, a standard issue NAACP shake-down scroundrel.
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