Tennessee Republicans Split 64%-Black Memphis Into 3 Districts After April 29 VRA Ruling
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · May 14
Tennessee Republicans Split 64%-Black Memphis Into 3 Districts After April 29 VRA Ruling
9 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · May 14
Memphis was carved out of its longtime majority-Black 9th Congressional District in a May 7 special session, with Republicans replacing it with three districts reaching roughly 200 miles into rural and suburban areas.
The overhaul followed the Supreme Court’s April 29 decision weakening a key Voting Rights Act protection, and GOP lawmakers also changed Tennessee law to allow mid-decade redistricting and dropped residency rules for candidates.
Republicans said the map was aimed at making all 9 Tennessee House seats winnable for the GOP, while critics called it a racial gerrymander that dilutes Black voting power in a city that is 64% Black.
The NAACP and Rep. Steve Cohen are challenging the map in state and federal court, seeking to block its use in the August primaries and November general election.
The fight underscores Tennessee’s sharper partisan and racial polarization, with Memphis again at the center of a statewide power struggle over representation.
What does the rise of mid-decade redistricting mean for the future stability of American elections?
With voting rights law redefined, what legal paths can citizens now use to challenge electoral maps?
How Tennessee’s 2026 Redistricting Threatens Black Representation and Sparks Legal Showdown
Overview
After the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back protections of the Voting Rights Act, former President Donald Trump pushed for redistricting in Tennessee. Governor Bill Lee responded by calling a special legislative session, where the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly quickly passed a new congressional map. This map, enacted on May 14, 2026, carves up Memphis’s majority-Black district—the state’s only Democratic seat—and is projected to help Republicans win all nine U.S. House seats. The changes have sparked immediate legal challenges and raised concerns about the dilution of Black political power and the future of fair representation in Tennessee.