Representative Steve Cohen, the lone remaining Tennessee Democrat in Congress, announced on Friday that he would not seek re-election after the Republican-led General Assembly carved up his Memphis-area district.
The announcement is the first indication of how the dilution of Black Democratic voting strength will scramble political fortunes after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act last month. Tennessee was the first state to draft and approve a new map, slicing Mr. Cohen’s majority-Black seat in and around Memphis into three new districts.
The redistricting rush is also hastening a generational shift that had already been roiling the Democratic Party. Mr. Cohen, 76, had already been in the middle of an acrimonious primary contest with State Representative Justin J. Pearson, 31, a Black Democrat who had skyrocketed to national attention after he was temporarily expelled from the state legislature over a gun control protest in 2023.
The incumbent had resisted calls to step aside for a younger successor and has repeatedly dismissed Mr. Pearson’s more fiery political approach. Mr. Pearson announced earlier this week that he would still run for Congress in the now-heavily Republican Ninth Congressional District, and a few other Democrats signaled interest in running in one of the new seats.
Those new districts stretch far beyond Memphis and Shelby County, and hand Republicans a significant structural advantage that could leave Tennessee with no Democratic representation.
Democrats have accused Republicans of targeting Black voters and their representation; Republicans have said that it is a matter of establishing the partisan advantage that the Supreme Court has allowed after it rejected Louisiana’s congressional map as an illegal racial gerrymander.
“This is by far the most difficult moment I’ve had as an elected official,” Mr. Cohen told reporters in Washington, appearing emotional as he described his love for the city and the funds he had delivered over his years in Congress.
“I’m not a quitter, but these districts were drawn to beat me,” he added.
While Mr. Cohen is white, he has maintained a strong well of support among Black Democrats in the city, an indication, some Democrats said, that the district was a fair opportunity for Black voters to elect a representative of their choosing.
Mr. Cohen is part of a long-shot lawsuit challenging the new district lines approved this month. If a court restores the previous district line, he would consider returning to politics, he suggested. Otherwise, he said, he would retire from Congress and public life.
“The city of Memphis, the Congress and the nation are better because of Steve’s commitment to making a difference,” said Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader, in a statement.
Mr. Pearson, in a short statement, said that “I wish him the best in his retirement and hope that he will be willing to help us build and mobilize Democrats across the state and nation.”
Mr. Cohen’s announcement opened opportunities for other Democrats besides Mr. Pearson. State Senator London Lamar, a Memphis Democrat who had backed Mr. Cohen, has submitted signatures to qualify to also run for the Ninth Congressional District.
Elsewhere in Tennessee, Mayor Chaz Molder of Columbia, a leading Democratic challenger to Representative Andy Ogles, a Republican, said he would continue to run in the Fifth Congressional District despite changes to the district that will make his climb considerably steeper.
Emily Cochrane is a national reporter for The Times covering the American South, based in Nashville.
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