Steve Cohen exits reelection bid after Tennessee redistricting uproots district

A mid-decade redraw in Tennessee shattered Steve Cohen’s Memphis-based district and pushed the lone Democrat in the state’s nine-member House delegation out of his reelection bid after nearly 20 years in Congress. The new map carved up the 9th Congressional District, the state’s only majority-Black congressional district, and split Memphis and Shelby County into three districts while also dividing Nashville into five.

Cohen, who has represented the seat since 2007, said he did not want to leave but was being forced out by the map. He has called the redistricting effort “shameful” and said Tennessee Republicans were responding to President Donald Trump’s push for GOP-led states to redraw lines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Cohen said the change was not just a loss for him, but for Tennessee, arguing that the state was giving up values and political power for Trump’s benefit.

The Republican-backed overhaul moved quickly. Tennessee lawmakers first repealed the state’s 56-year prohibition on mid-decade redistricting, then approved the new map earlier this month, and Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law the same day. The fight has intensified as redistricting battles spread nationally after the U.S. Supreme Court last week declared Louisiana’s congressional map an illegal gerrymander and ordered it redrawn.

Cohen testified before a House and Senate committee on May 6, 2026, making the case that Tennessee had benefited from having a Democratic congressman in the seat. He cited federal funding he helped secure for a bridge over the Mississippi River and warned lawmakers that the state was surrendering influence for partisan gain. Cohen is now challenging the new map in court and said he would reenter the race if the lawsuit restores his old district.

The legal fight is already spilling into the election calendar. Separate lawsuits filed after the map’s approval, including one involving Cohen, argue that the state changed election rules too late in the cycle and could create confusion, delays for military and overseas ballots and chaos for campaigns built around districts that no longer exist. Cohen said he had already spent money on campaign ads made for his old district and described the moment as “very depressing” and “like a living funeral almost.” At least one Republican has already announced plans to run for the seat, underscoring how quickly the new map has reshaped the race and the political future of Memphis representation.