Context:

Representative Steve Cohen announced he will end his re-election bid after more than 19 years in Congress as Tennessee’s Republican-led redistricting reshapes his Memphis-based district, raising the likelihood of a fully Republican delegation in the next cycle. He cited districts drawn to defeat him and filed a lawsuit on May 7 seeking to restore the original 9th District. While he floated the possibility of rejoining if courts restore that district, he acknowledged the odds are unlikely. Tennessee and other Southern states are moving to finalize new maps ahead of the November elections, with Republicans framing the changes as legally compliant and fairer geographically. The development highlights the shifting political landscape in the South and the potential changes to congressional representation for Memphis and its voters.

Dive Deeper:

• On May 15, 2026, Rep. Steve Cohen publicly announced he would withdraw from his reelection bid after nearly two decades in Congress, as Republican-led redistricting progresses ahead of the midterms.

• Cohen’s decision followed the Tennessee legislature’s adoption of redrawn maps that reconfigured his majority-Black Memphis district, a move he described as designed to defeat him and indicated he would sue the redistricting process on May 7.

• He suggested he would reenter the race only if the courts restore the original 9th District as it existed before the redrawing, acknowledging this restoration is unlikely to occur by 2028.

• Cohen, who first took office in 2007 and has represented Memphis for about 19 years, is noted as one of the last White Democrats in the Southern United States, a demographic context cited in discussions of his district.

• Republicans defended the redistricting as necessary to comply with legal standards and to deliver fairer, more compact representation, arguing the maps reflect political and legal considerations rather than partisan aims.

• Tennessee was the first state to pass new congressional districts after a Supreme Court filing, with other Southern states like Louisiana, Alabama, and South Carolina also pursuing redistricting.

• Cohen attributed his retirement to presidential politics, criticizing Donald Trump, while Republican claims emphasized reframing the changes as nonpartisan, with ongoing debates about the future composition of Tennessee’s congressional delegation.