Marsha Blackburn

Citing a new U.S. Supreme Court ruling, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and GOP allies are urging Tennessee lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map to flip its only Democratic-held seat, located in Memphis.

The federal court's April 29 decision struck down a Black‑majority congressional district in Louisiana, narrowing how the 1965 Voting Rights Act can be applied in redistricting cases.

“I urge our state legislature to reconvene to redistrict another Republican seat in Memphis,” Blackburn wrote in a post on X. "It's essential to cement @realDonaldTrump's agenda and the Golden Age of America."

Blackburn's post included a proposed district map that would carve Tennessee into nine Republican-leaning districts, eliminating the state's only Democratic-held U.S. House seat.

“I’ve vowed to keep Tennessee a red state, and as Governor, I’ll do everything I can to make this map a reality,” Blackburn wrote.

Tennessee's only Democratic-held congressional seat is held by U.S. Rep. Steven Cohen, who has won 10 consecutive elections. Cohen, first elected in 2006, is facing a primary challenge this year from 31-year-old state Rep. Justin Pearson in the District 9 race.

"We’ve been expecting this decision," Cohen said. "I’m disappointed that the court has diluted the Voting Rights Act which guaranteed minority voters the right to elect the representative of their choosing. It has served us well. This ruling effectively undoes the work of Martin Luther King and John Lewis. Changes to the Voting Rights Act should be made by Congress."

Pearson called the ruling “more than a legal decision, it is an assault on democracy and the civil rights for which Black voters have fought and died."

"It also is a clear and direct threat to the people of Tennessee’s 9th District — a majority Black district," he said. Pearson said he plans to work with civil rights organizations and attorneys to protect the existing congressional, state and county commission seats.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, said he will discuss the "feasibility" of the idea with other House and Senate leaders in the coming days — but the filing deadline for 2026 elections has already passed.

"We are currently examining the ruling and the possible ramifications for Tennessee. Tennessee currently has a strong, fair and legal map which has withstood court scrutiny,” McNally said. “With the filing deadline passed and qualified candidates already running for election, redistricting congressional seats at this time would present several logistical challenges.“

Redrawing Tennessee’s districts in time for 2026 elections would require an extremely condensed timeline and intense logistical organization. Even if the legislature were to reconvene imminently, maps would likely not be adopted before mid- to late May. Even if there were no legal challenges to prevent them from being used, candidates now already qualified for the ballot would have to collect signatures again, and in their new districts — typically a two month process. Early voting for the August primaries is scheduled to begin July 17.

Tennessee GOP leaders look to turn last blue congressional seat red; Lee says he needs to read ruling

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Columbia, championed Blackburn's approach: "Redraw the TN maps," he posted on X.

Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, who is running for a seat in the 6th Congressional District, wrote that Tennessee "should reconvene to redistrict another Republican seat in Memphis."

"Tennessee should do its part in supporting @realDonaldTrump's America First agenda by getting rid of the woke @RepCohen," Garrett wrote.

Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, chimed in: "Hey Johnny — got any ideas on who would make a great Republican Congressman from West TN to join Rep. Kustoff?"

But Gov. Bill Lee said that with the ruling fresh, it is too early to say whether the legislature should return to redraw the congressional maps.

But it's not an immediate priority for Gov. Bill Lee.

“I haven’t considered that at all,” Lee told The Tennessean after an America 250 speech in Sparta, Tennessee, on April 29.

“The ruling from the Supreme Court just happened today, and we don’t know fully what that means for a state like Tennessee,” he said. “It's too early for me to say what I think should happen as a result. I need to read the ruling.”

However, Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, said he does not think that the legislature should return for a special session just for redistricting, particularly as the legislature has just adjourned.

“I don’t think that the people in my district would feel that’s a good use of their tax dollars,” he said.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, told The Tennessean in an email: "We are reviewing the recent opinion as I have conversations with the White House and other individuals."

Sexton has indicated in the past that change could be coming for Memphis.

“One day we will turn Memphis red again,” Sexton said during remarks at the 2024 Republican Statesmen’s Dinner in Nashville. “And I know that day is coming very soon.”

Republicans, Democrats debate, consider redrawing congressional maps

State Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, said she believes the U.S. Supreme Court decision was motivated by politics.

"It hands Republicans across the South the legal cover to redraw districts in ways that will cost Black and Latino Americans seats in Congress, seats in state legislatures, and seats at every table where decisions about their lives are made," she said.

In 2022, the Republican-controlled legislature carved up Tennessee's historically safe Democratic 5th Congressional District that covered Nashville into three districts, all Republican leaning. The move eliminated one of Tennessee's two Democratic congressional seats, paving a way for far-right firebrand Ogles to flip the fifth district red.

At the time, U.S. Rep. John Rose, R-Cookeville, characterized the move as “gerrymandering” and “legislative overreach.”

"Voters should choose their elected officials — not the other way around," Akbari said. "This moment demands renewed vigilance and an unshakeable commitment to protecting every American's right to fair representation. We will not be silent, and we will not stop fighting."

Tennessee's carve-up of Davidson County’s congressional district in 2022 was a local precursor to other redistricting efforts around the country in 2025.

Both Texas and California have enacted new congressional maps. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abott championed a redistricting that leaned towards the Republican party. In response, California Gov. Gavin Newsom supported redrawing districts to the benefit of the Democrats.

Akbari called Blackburn’s proposition “voter disenfranchisement,” and “voter discrimination” for the “explicit purpose of stripping Black Memphians of their political power.”

"Memphis families marched, organized and sacrificed for generations to earn fair representation in the halls of power. That history demands our respect — not a map drawn to erase it,” Akbari said.

Senate Democratic Caucus Chair London Lamar agreed, saying such gerrymandering of Memphis would “lay the foundation for a new Jim Crow South.”

“I am asking my Republican colleagues plainly: Do not do this. This is a moral line. Do not cross it. Memphis will not be erased and Black voters will not be silenced," she said.