Updated May 7, 2026 / CBS News
Tennessee’s Republican-controlled legislature approved a new congressional map Thursday that effectively breaks up the state’s lone Black-majority, Democratic-held district. Gov. Bill Lee signed the measure the same afternoon after lawmakers first voted to overturn a ban on mid-decade redistricting so the map could be changed.
The new plan splits the city of Memphis and Shelby County into three separate districts, a configuration expected to favor Republican candidates. The current representative for much of Memphis, Democrat Steve Cohen, said he plans to sue over the redrawn lines. The change dissolves the concentrated Black voting bloc that has helped deliver the district to Democrats.
Nashville remains divided among three districts under the new plan, though its boundaries were adjusted. Democrats had been eyeing District 5, represented by Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, as a possible pickup. Under the revised map, District 5 now reaches into affluent Nashville suburbs and extends all the way to parts of downtown Memphis.
Gov. Lee called a special legislative session after the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that narrowed the application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and removed a legal constraint that had guided how race could be considered when drawing districts. Republican state Sen. John Stevens said bluntly, ‘These maps were drawn to maximize our partisan advantage.’
The measure prompted large protests at the State Capitol. Demonstrators filled the building and chanted opposition during votes, and the session turned rowdy enough that audience members were ejected. Democratic lawmakers staged a walkout after the House passed the plan. Democratic state Sen. London Lamar of Memphis warned Republicans, ‘You have awakened a sleeping giant today.’
The Congressional Black Caucus condemned the map change, calling it ‘tantamount to theft’ of fair representation and saying the move strips political power from Black communities. The caucus warned the consequences could be severe for families and communities across Tennessee.
Political scientists say Tennessee’s partisan makeup makes the new lines likely to produce the intended Republican gains. University of Tennessee professor Anthony Nownes noted Tennessee is a ‘deep red state’ and predicted the map will have ‘exactly the effect that they had planned.’
The Tennessee action is part of a broader wave of mid-decade redistricting. The effort accelerated last year after former President Trump urged Texas Republicans to redraw that state’s congressional map, and momentum increased following the Supreme Court decision. Democratic-led efforts in states such as California and Virginia have also altered seat counts via referendums, while Republican-led map changes have proceeded in Missouri, North Carolina and elsewhere.
In Louisiana, Gov. Jeff Landry moved to delay House primaries to redraw maps after the court ruling; other Southern states, including Alabama and South Carolina, have indicated plans to revisit their districts as well. University of Tennessee professor Jordan Carr Peterson described the flurry of activity as ‘kind of the sandbox we’re playing in now,’ noting that with fewer legal guardrails, elected officials increasingly control how lines are drawn.
Republican leaders defended the Tennessee changes as permissible under the new legal landscape and part of normal political competition. Opponents say the timing and the way lines were drawn amount to partisan gerrymandering that undermines fair representation for Black voters and Democrats in the state.
Aaron Navarro contributed to this report.