These maps were drawn to maximize our partisan advantage.
In Tennessee, Republicans have redrawn the congressional map to dissolve the state's only Black majority district in Memphis, a move made possible after the Supreme Court narrowed the Voting Rights Act's protections against racially dilutive mapmaking. The legislature first had to repeal its own ban on mid-decade redistricting before proceeding — a telling measure of how deliberately the action was pursued. This is not an isolated event but part of a widening national pattern, as both parties rush to redraw district lines in a legal landscape where fewer guardrails remain, raising enduring questions about whose voices are counted and how power is apportioned in a democracy.
- Tennessee Republicans moved with unusual speed, overturning their own mid-decade redistricting ban to carve Memphis and Shelby County — a Black majority region — into three Republican-leaning districts.
- The chamber erupted during the House vote: audience members were removed, Democratic lawmakers walked out in protest, and demonstrators filled the State Capitol halls as the bill advanced.
- The Congressional Black Caucus called the action 'tantamount to theft,' warning that stripping political power from Black communities could carry life-and-death consequences for families across the state.
- Congressman Steve Cohen vowed to sue, but legal scholars say challenges face steep odds in the post-Supreme Court landscape, where racial considerations in mapmaking carry far less legal weight.
- Tennessee's move is part of a rapidly accelerating redistricting war — Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, California, and Virginia have all redrawn or signaled plans to redraw maps, with House control potentially hanging in the balance before November.
On Thursday, Tennessee's Republican governor signed legislation redrawing the state's congressional map — but only after the legislature first had to repeal its own ban on mid-decade redistricting. The target was clear: eliminate the state's only Democratic-held seat, represented by Congressman Steve Cohen in Memphis and Shelby County, a Black majority region.
Under the new boundaries, that unified district is split into three, each drawn to favor Republican candidates. Memphis, already fractured in the 2021 redistricting cycle, is divided again. The district once seen as Democrats' best pickup opportunity now stretches from Nashville's affluent suburbs into downtown Memphis, shoring up the Republican incumbent. One Republican state senator was candid about the purpose: 'These maps were drawn to maximize our partisan advantage.'
The special session had been called the week prior, following a Supreme Court ruling that narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and reduced the legal weight of race in redistricting decisions. Tennessee Republicans moved swiftly through the opening. The response was fierce — Democratic lawmakers walked out, protesters filled the Capitol, and the Congressional Black Caucus condemned the action as 'tantamount to theft,' warning of life-and-death consequences for Black communities. Democratic state senator London Lamar told Republicans: 'You have awakened a sleeping giant today.'
Cohen announced plans to sue, though political scientists assess the legal path as difficult in the current landscape. Tennessee is not an outlier — Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, California, and Virginia have all entered the redistricting fray since the Supreme Court ruling. As one professor observed, with fewer legal guardrails and politicians drawing their own lines, both parties are acting accordingly. How many seats shift before November — and whether courts intervene — remains the open question.
On Thursday afternoon, Tennessee's Republican governor signed legislation that his party had just muscled through the state legislature—a bill that first had to overturn the legislature's own ban on mid-decade redistricting before it could proceed. The move was swift and deliberate: redraw the congressional map to eliminate the state's only Democratic-held seat.
The target was Memphis and Shelby County, a Black majority region currently represented by Democratic congressman Steve Cohen. Under the new map, that unified district would be carved into three separate ones, each tilted toward Republican advantage. The city of Memphis itself, which had already been fractured during the 2021 redistricting cycle, would be split again. Nashville, which had been a Democratic stronghold before being divided up five years earlier, would remain split across three districts under the new boundaries, though the lines would shift. The district that had been Democratic strategists' best hope for a pickup—the one held by Republican Andy Ogles—now extends from affluent Nashville suburbs down into downtown Memphis, making it safer for the incumbent.
The special legislative session had been called the week before, triggered by a Supreme Court decision that narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, reducing the legal weight given to race when states redraw their House districts. That ruling opened the door. Tennessee Republicans walked through it without hesitation. One Republican state senator, John Stevens of northwest Tennessee, was blunt about the intent: "These maps were drawn to maximize our partisan advantage."
The process was contentious. During the House vote, the chamber erupted. Audience members were ejected. Democratic lawmakers walked out when the measure passed. At the State Capitol on Thursday, protesters filled the halls. Democratic state senator London Lamar, who represents Memphis, issued a warning to Republicans: "You have awakened a sleeping giant today." The Congressional Black Caucus released a statement calling the redistricting "tantamount to theft—the theft of fair representation and the deliberate stripping away of political power from Black communities." The caucus warned that the consequences "could have life-and-death ramifications for Black families and communities across Tennessee."
Steve Cohen, the congressman whose district is being dismantled, said he would sue. But legal challenges face an uphill climb in the new legal landscape. A University of Tennessee political science professor, Anthony Nownes, assessed the likely outcome: in a "deep red state" like Tennessee, where Republicans have been targeting the Memphis district for years, the new map would probably achieve exactly what its architects intended.
Tennessee is not alone. The redistricting wars that began last summer when Texas redrawed its map have accelerated since the Supreme Court ruling. California and Virginia have passed Democratic-led ballot measures to redraw their maps for partisan gain. Missouri and North Carolina Republicans have followed Texas's example. Alabama and South Carolina have signaled they will undertake similar efforts. Another University of Tennessee professor, Jordan Carr Peterson, described the moment plainly: "Democratic states are doing it. Republican states are doing it. This is a function of when you have elected politicians draw district lines there, and where there are fewer and fewer legal guardrails on how those district lines are drawn." The question now is how many seats will shift before November, and whether the courts will intervene.
Notable Quotes
These maps were drawn to maximize our partisan advantage.— Republican state senator John Stevens
You have awakened a sleeping giant today.— Democratic state senator London Lamar, representing Memphis
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Tennessee Republicans need to overturn their own ban on mid-decade redistricting? Didn't they already have a map?
They did, but the Supreme Court's ruling the week before changed the legal calculus. By narrowing the Voting Rights Act, the Court removed a major obstacle to what they wanted to do. So they called a special session and undid their own rule to seize the moment.
What exactly happens to Memphis voters under this new map?
Their district gets split into three. Instead of having one representative who reflects their interests as a majority-Black community, their voting power gets diluted across three districts where they're a minority. It's the difference between having a voice and being drowned out.
The congressman, Steve Cohen, said he'd sue. What are his chances?
Not great, honestly. The legal landscape just shifted against him. The Supreme Court ruling that enabled this redistricting also weakened the tools he'd normally use to fight it. He can try, but the guardrails are gone.
Is this just Tennessee, or is something bigger happening?
It's everywhere now. Both parties are doing it—California, Virginia, Missouri, North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina. The Supreme Court decision opened a door, and every state is rushing through it to redraw maps before the November elections. It's a scramble for House seats.
Why would a state overturn its own rule like that?
Because the rule was inconvenient. When you control the legislature and the governor's office, and the courts have just given you more freedom, the old restraints feel like obstacles. So you remove them.