Tennessee's Republican-controlled Legislature has redrawn the state's congressional map to dismantle its only majority-Black district, a swift move that follows a landmark Supreme Court ruling weakening voting rights protections. Governor Bill Lee is expected to sign the new map into law, positioning Republicans to flip a seat in the upcoming midterm elections and cement control over Tennessee's entire congressional delegation.
The revised lines slice the Memphis-based district held by longtime Democratic Representative Steve Cohen into three separate districts, dispersing Black voters into rural, Republican-leaning areas that stretch hundreds of miles eastward. The map also further fragments the Nashville metropolitan area, the state's other Democratic stronghold, into five districts. The long, winding districts connect voters across Tennessee's disparate geographic regions, joining together communities from different media markets and time zones to achieve the desired partisan outcome.
Governor Lee called lawmakers into a special session this week to fast-track the redistricting effort ahead of Tennessee's August 6 primary elections. The state House passed the map without a single Republican speaking in its favor. When one legislator attempted to address the chamber, public observers in the gallery erupted in chanting and yelling, prompting the House speaker to call the vote as Democratic members rose and walked out in protest.
Democratic Representative Gloria Johnson of Knoxville delivered a pointed objection from the chamber floor. "This is not a special session. This is a white-power rally and a white-power grab," she said. "Vote yes, you're telling everyone you're racist."
The state Senate debate drew similar scenes. Protesters chanted outside the chamber as senators discussed the proposal. Republican state Senator John Stevens, who sponsored the bill, defended the redrawn lines as a reflection of Tennessee's political leanings. "Tennessee is a conservative state," Stevens said. "Its congressional delegation should reflect that." He noted the maps were drawn using census data, a claim Democratic senators challenged, pointing out that census figures do not include partisan information.
State Senator Raumesh Akbari, a Memphis Democrat and minority leader of the caucus, implored her colleagues to reject the map. In an emotional floor speech, she invoked the civil rights movement, asking whether lawmakers were prepared to deny political representation to Black Tennesseans who "work just like everyone else" and deserve advocates for their interests at the federal level. The Senate approved the map as protesters shouted and one senator stood on a desk holding a bedsheet reading "No Jim Crow 2.0" and "Stop the TN Steal." Other members turned their backs on the Senate dais in dissent.
Tennessee becomes the ninth state to enact a new congressional map ahead of the midterms, part of an unusually aggressive mid-decade redistricting cycle. President Donald Trump urged Republican states last year to redraw lines to buttress the party's narrow House majority. Republicans could gain as many as 14 seats through redistricting efforts nationwide, compared to roughly 10 for Democrats, though several maps face ongoing litigation.
The Supreme Court's decision last week to effectively strip away racial gerrymandering protections from the Voting Rights Act has accelerated the trend. Louisiana and Alabama Republicans are preparing to redraw their maps, while South Carolina lawmakers are debating whether to follow suit. Those three states currently have five majority-minority districts represented by Democrats. Other states with already-passed filing deadlines are eyeing the 2028 election cycle for potential redistricting opportunities.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Tennessee's Republicans executed a textbook partisan map with speed and swagger, daring Democrats to fight back knowing the courts have largely stepped aside."
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