9-0: Tennessee approves new electoral map without Democratic seats

The Tennessee Legislature approved a new electoral map for the midterm elections. With the endorsement of the state's governor, Bill Lee, the map would eliminate the only Democratic-leaning seat, moving the House delegation from an 8-1 Republican majority to a 9-0 Republican majority. The governor is expected to sign the map in the coming days.

The new map comes on the heels of the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which found that Louisiana's second congressional district in the House of Representatives violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it had been drawn along racial lines. The ruling opened the door for other southern states to challenge racially drawn electoral maps, especially those drawn under pressure from the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The changed seat is the 9th District, currently represented by Democrat Steve Cohen. The lawyer and former state representative has been in Congress since 2007. In its previous version, it covered much of Memphis. Instead, the new district was expanded east to encompass rural, Republican-leaning areas.

Although the state legislative session had ended, Governor Lee called a special session to debate a new proposed electoral map before Tennessee's August 6 primary. The House passed it first, and hours later, the state Senate gave the go-ahead. "Tennessee is a conservative state. Its congressional delegation should reflect that," declared Republican state Sen. John Stevens.

The session was marked by a wave of protests both inside and outside the state Capitol. Shouts were even heard during the sessions.

"It’s a great day for Tennessee! Thank you to President Trump for leading the charge, Governor Lee, and to the legislators who worked quickly and diligently to make this possible," Senator Marsha Blackburn, also a gubernatorial candidate, celebrated after the final vote.

"This is how we cement President Trump’s agenda and usher in America’s Golden Age here in Tennessee, and how we become America's conservative leader," she added.

The Tennessee vote comes just weeks after Florida lawmakers approved a new electoral map that would shift from 20-8 in favor of Republicans to 24-4. Governor Lee's initiative is the latest episode in the redistricting battle that has spread across the country.

While electoral map changes occur at the end of every decade and after the census, in 2025, President Donald Trump pushed for an atypical map change in Texas, adding five Republican-leaning seats to the House of Representatives, with the intention of helping retain the majority in the November election. Subsequently, other Democratic and Republican states have pushed for changes to their respective maps, including California, Ohio, Missouri and North Carolina.