Republican leaders in Tennessee have introduced a proposed congressional map that could dismantle the state’s only Democratic-held U.S. House district before the 2026 midterm elections, according to the New York Times.
The proposal, released Wednesday by Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, would divide the Memphis-based district currently represented by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen into multiple Republican-leaning districts. Cohen’s district is majority-Black and has long been the lone Democratic congressional seat in the state.
The move comes shortly after a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limited the use of race in congressional redistricting. Tennessee Republican leaders argued the new map is designed to comply with that decision while also reflecting “partisan considerations.“
“The Supreme Court has opined that redistricting, like the judicial system, should be color-blind,” Sexton said in a statement released alongside the proposal. Republican lawmakers also introduced legislation that would allow Tennessee to redraw congressional maps more than once per decade.
Under the proposed plan, the Memphis metropolitan area, home to more than one million residents, would be divided among three separate congressional districts. Critics argue the change would weaken the voting power of Black residents and Democratic voters concentrated in the region.
Kareem Crayton, vice president of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Washington office, told NBC News the proposal could reduce accountability to Memphis voters because no single representative would fully represent the city’s interests.
The Tennessee proposal is part of a broader wave of redistricting efforts unfolding across several Republican-led Southern states following the Supreme Court’s ruling. Lawmakers in Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina are also considering new congressional maps ahead of upcoming elections.
Tennessee Republicans hold supermajorities in both legislative chambers and are expected to move quickly on the proposal. Floor votes could take place as early as Thursday, with the state’s congressional primaries scheduled for Aug. 6.
If approved, the redistricting plan would significantly reshape Tennessee’s political landscape and could strengthen Republican control of the state’s congressional delegation for years to come.
