Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) said he ended his bid for reelection to Congress on Friday after Tennessee Republicans approved a new congressional map that dramatically reshapes his Memphis-based district.Cohen, who has represented Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District for nearly two decades, said the decision was among the hardest of his political career.
The newly approved map splits Memphis among three districts, a move that dilutes Democratic voting power and could give Republicans control of all nine of Tennessee’s congressional seats.
Tennessee Republicans’ newly passed congressional map splits up the state’s one Democratic district. (Courtesy of Tennessee Senate Republicans)
“I signed a paper … stating that I do request not to be on the ballot,” Cohen said during remarks on Capitol Hill. “The 9th District that they have under these new lines is nothing like the 9th District that I’ve represented.”
Cohen described the district he represented as a uniquely diverse coalition centered on Memphis, noting it has long been a majority-black district that repeatedly elected him, a white Democrat, by overwhelming margins.
