Tennessee House Passes Redistricting Bill to Carve Up State’s Lone Blue District

NASHVILLE—The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill on May 7 that would redistrict the state’s U.S. congressional map ahead of the midterms. The legislation now heads to the state Senate. The proposal splits the Democratic stronghold of Memphis into three U.S. congressional seats, up from one, currently held by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). If the bill becomes law, all of Tennessee’s nine congressional districts would likely lean Republican, which could eliminate the only Democratic voice representing the Volunteer State in the midterms. Cohen—who currently represents District 9 covering parts of Shelby County, including the city of Memphis, and Tipton County— called redistricting efforts “a blatant, corrupt power grab that would destroy the Black community’s and our entire city’s voice,” in a May 6 post on X....