Tennessee approves new congressional map that dissolves majority Black district

Tennessee's Republican lawmakers on Thursday approved redrawing the state's congressional map to carve up the lone Democratic represented district, the latest state to scramble to redistrict as both parties seek control of the U.S. House in November. 

Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill Thursday afternoon. The General Assembly first on Thursday had to pass a measure to overturn its own ban on mid-decade redistricting. 

The new map splits Memphis, a Black majority city, and the county that encompasses it, Shelby, into three districts, a move that would favor Republicans. Memphis and Shelby County are currently represented by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, who has said he will sue over the new map. 

Nashville, which had been a Democratic stronghold until it was split up during the 2021 redistricting, remains divided between three districts, although the new map changes those boundaries. Before the map was redrawn this week, Democrats were targeting District 5, currently represented by GOP Rep. Andy Ogles, but that district now includes the affluent Nashville suburbs and runs into downtown Memphis. 

Lee called the special session of the Tennessee legislature last week after the Supreme Court threw out Louisiana's congressional map. In the ruling, the Supreme Court narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which considered race in redrawing its House district lines. 

"These maps were drawn to maximize our partisan advantage," said Republican state Sen. John Stevens, who represents northwest Tennessee. 

Democrats strenuously objected to the new map, and protesters against the measure filled the State Capitol on Thursday. Ahead of the Senate vote, protesters yelled: "Don't do this!" Democratic state Sen. London Lamar, who represents Memphis, warned Republicans, "You have awakened a sleeping giant today." 

The measure first passed the Tennessee House during the rowdy session in which the audience was ejected. Democratic lawmakers then walked out when the measure passed. 

"What the Tennessee Legislature did is tantamount to theft—the theft of fair representation and the deliberate stripping away of political power from Black communities," the Congressional Black Caucus said in a statement. "It is an attempt to silence voices and deny Black voters representation reflective of their lived experiences and the issues impacting their communities every day. The consequences will not be theoretical; they could have life-and-death ramifications for Black families and communities across Tennessee."

Although some have warned that the newly redrawn congressional maps in other states won't necessarily result in the outcome that the party drawing the maps wants, University of Tennessee political science professor Anthony Nownes noted that Tennessee is a "deep red state," and Republicans have been targeting the Memphis district for a long time.

"I think it will have exactly the effect that they had planned." Nownes said. 

The mid-decade redistricting war, which kicked off last summer when President Trump pushed Texas Republicans to redraw their congressional map, gained renewed momentum last week after the Supreme Court ruling. California and Virginia have put forward Democratic-led ballot referendums that passed to net more seats, while Missouri and North Carolina Republicans have followed Texas' lead to redraw their map to get more seats.

After last week's Supreme Court decision, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry delayed the state's House primaries one day before early voting was set to begin in order to redraw the state's congressional map. Several other southern states, including Alabama and South Carolina, have also indicated they will undertake efforts to redraw their maps. 

University of Tennessee political science professor Jordan Carr Peterson described the rapid-fire movement in Nashville as "kind of the sandbox we're playing in now."

"Democratic states are doing it. Republican states are doing it," Peterson said. "This is a function of when you have elected politicans draw district lines there, and where there are fewer and fewer legal guardrails on how those district lines are drawn." 

Aaron Navarro contributed to this report.