Tennessee Republicans on Wednesday proposed a congressional map aimed at diluting the state\u2019s lone majority-Black district, a swift response to last week\u2019s Supreme Court ruling that weakened a landmark voting rights law.<\/p>\n
The new map slices up Memphis, a majority-Black city, and Shelby County into three districts and will most likely give Republicans the ability to flip Tennessee\u2019s lone remaining Democratic seat, which includes the city.<\/p>\n
Democratic lawmakers, whose opposition means little under a Republican supermajority in the state\u2019s General Assembly, and Black leaders across Tennessee have compared the effort to carve up the Ninth Congressional District to Jim Crow-era voter suppression tactics. They have accused conservatives of a power grab that undermines Black voters in Memphis, who have long favored Democrats.<\/p>\n
Republicans, cheered on by President Trump, have rejected those claims. Instead, they have said, they are responding to the Supreme Court ruling, which raised the bar for what constitutes a racial gerrymander under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what it means to be America\u2019s conservative leader,\u201d Senator Marsha Blackburn, the Republican front-runner for governor, said. \u201cLet\u2019s get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tennessee joins a series of states that have engaged in tit-for-tat redistricting battles since last summer, when Mr. Trump called for Republican-led states to redraw their maps and Texas became the first. Since then, new maps have materialized in half a dozen states controlled by both Republicans and Democrats, with more on the horizon, in the fight for Congress in November\u2019s elections. Tennessee\u2019s new map, if passed, would be the first directly responding to the high court ruling.<\/p>\n
Under the map, Shelby County \u2014 which includes Memphis \u2014 is split into three districts. One district now runs along the state\u2019s western border before extending down to include part of Williamson County, a suburban county just outside Nashville. Two other districts now share part of Shelby County and more rural, conservative communities in Tennessee.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Supreme Court has opined that redistricting, like the judicial system, should be colorblind \u2014 the decision indicated states like Tennessee can redistrict based on partisan politics,\u201d Speaker Cameron Sexton said in a statement. \u201cTennessee\u2019s redistricting will reduce the risk of future legal challenges while promoting sound and strategic conservatism.\u201d<\/p>\n
The General Assembly is expected to vote as soon as Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana congressional map that included two majority-Black districts, arguing that it violated the Constitution by using race as the primary factor in redistricting. The ruling has set off a scramble across Southern states with Republican leadership, all of which have at least one majority-Black district, before the 2026 midterms.<\/p>\n
Louisiana last week delayed its House primaries \u2014 though thousands of absentee votes had already been cast \u2014 to allow its Legislature to draft a new map. The South Carolina legislature is also facing conservative pressure to quickly adopt a new congressional map.<\/p>\n
Alabama is barred by court order from adopting a new map until after the 2030 census but is trying to get the order lifted. In anticipation of a favorable ruling, lawmakers convened a special session this week with the goal of allowing the state to delay certain House primaries.<\/p>\n
In Florida, debate over a new map that could give Republicans up to four new seats was underway as the Supreme Court ruling became public.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump spoke directly to Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee, a Republican, to press for a new map the day after the ruling, and top Tennessee Republicans have raced to ease the way for rapid passage.<\/p>\n