Republicans in Tennessee adopted a plan Thursday aimed at giving them an additional congressional seat as GOP lawmakers around the country scramble to improve their fortunes this fall.
The vote came in response to a Supreme Court decision last week that weakened the Voting Rights Act and gave Republicans a free hand to reshape majority-Black districts that routinely elect Democrats. Gov. Bill Lee (R) has championed the map and is expected to give it final approval.
The majority-Black district being eliminated in the Memphis area has long been represented by a White Democrat, Rep. Steve Cohen. He is the lone Democrat in the state’s nine-member delegation.
The Republican lawmakers in Tennessee acted as their counterparts in Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina pushed to carve up their majority-Black districts ahead of the midterm elections in November.
The plan in Tennessee prompted fierce debate on the floor of the legislature and boisterous protests from onlookers, some of whom were cleared from the viewing gallery in the state House ahead of the vote.
State Rep. Justin Jones (D) accused some Republican lawmakers of “seething with racism” and referred to Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) as the “grand wizard in chief.” Jones drew national attention in 2023 when Republicans kicked him out of the legislature for leading a protest over gun violence on the floor of the state House. He later rejoined the legislature.
“It’s a form of Jim Crow terror,” Jones said of Republicans’ plan for the state.
Sexton did not respond to Jones, but other Republicans said they were trying to get as many U.S. House seats as possible.
“This map was drafted based on politics, based on population and the opportunity for the first time in history for us to send an entire Republican delegation from Tennessee to represent the state in Washington, D.C.,” said state Rep. Jason Zachary (R).
The latest push to redraw maps comes after a nearly year-long battle that has seen Republicans and Democrats redrawing maps in states they control to maximize their advantages in the midterm elections. President Donald Trump started that arms race, and Republicans drew more favorable lines in 13 districts — including in Florida, where lawmakers approved a GOP-friendly map last week hours after the Supreme Court issued its decision.
The new map in Tennessee would bring that total to 14 by breaking up Memphis and spreading its voters across Republican-leaning areas.
Democrats have gained more favorable lines in 10 districts over the past year through ballot measures and a lawsuit.
Republicans in other states will spend the coming days and weeks trying to move more districts in their favor in an otherwise daunting political climate.
In Alabama, the state House approved a measure Wednesday that would delay May 19 primaries if a court allows the state to use a map that would give Republicans an additional congressional seat. The state is now under a court order barring it from changing its map. The state Senate is expected to take up the legislation on delaying the primary soon.
In South Carolina, Republicans in the state House agreed Wednesday to extend their legislative session so they can consider a new map soon. The state Senate must still get approval by a two-thirds margin to allow the longer session, and both chambers would then need to approve a new map. Republicans could pick up one seat there under a new map.
In Louisiana, Gov. Jeff Landry (R) last week upended the May 16 primaries by suspending them in House races while keeping the schedule in place for a Senate seat. State lawmakers could adopt a new congressional map next week, clearing the way for a new round of House primaries.
Republicans could give themselves a shot at winning one or two additional seats in Louisiana.
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