Tennessee Judges Keep 9-0 GOP Map for Aug. 6 Primary as Panel Rejects Race Claim
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 24
Tennessee Judges Keep 9-0 GOP Map for Aug. 6 Primary as Panel Rejects Race Claim
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 24
Summary
A three-judge panel denied a preliminary injunction Thursday, leaving Tennessee’s new congressional map in place for the Aug. 6 primary and preserving a plan expected to give Republicans a 9-0 House delegation.
The judges said plaintiffs had not shown race, rather than politics, drove the May 2026 redraw, writing that evidence of intentional Black vote dilution was weak and lacked the kind of direct proof seen in Cooper v. Harris.
The map split Memphis and Shelby County into three districts, eliminating Tennessee’s only majority-Black seat; Black voters and civil rights groups argued that move diluted their voting power, and the lawsuit will continue despite the setback.
The redraw followed a special session after Louisiana v. Callais made racial-discrimination challenges harder, and it fits a broader Trump-backed mid-decade push that has already produced new congressional maps in at least eight states.