Pearson wins Tennessee 9th District Democratic primary after redistricting fight
State Rep. Justin Pearson won Tennessee’s 9th District Democratic primary on August 6, advancing to face a Republican opponent in a newly redrawn congressional district that was reshaped to eliminate Democratic voting power in Memphis. Pearson’s victory comes after the state legislature redrew the district in May 2026 to carve up the majority-Black district that Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen had represented since 2007.
The redistricting split Shelby County—home to Memphis—among three districts that extend outward into rural and suburban areas. The new 9th District now stretches roughly 200 miles east from Memphis across rural areas before reaching toward Nashville, with 71% of its voters new to the district, according to an Associated Press estimate. The redrawn seat tilts Republican, a sharp reversal from the previous district that backed Democrat Kamala Harris by 43 points in the 2024 presidential election.
Pearson, 31, gained national prominence in 2023 when he and fellow Democratic s…