Republicans can claim their first major scalp in the fight to redraw congressional maps now that a longtime Tennessee Democrat has announced he will no longer run for re-election in November.
On Friday, Rep. Steve Cohen declared that he would not run to represent “any of the three gerrymandered congressional districts carved out of the 9th District” of Tennessee, which he has represented since January 2007.
‘It has been the honor of my life serving you.’
Republicans state lawmakers in Tennessee immediately responded to the Callais Supreme Court decision, which determined that racially gerrymandered congressional districts are unconstitutional. They reconvened and passed a new map that broke the 9th Congressional District up into three separate districts that will likely turn red after the November midterms.
Tennessee state Democrats did not take the news well, engaging in over-the-top and in some cases potentially dangerous theatrics in the state Capitol, blaring bullhorns and dancing atop their desks in childish protest.
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State Rep. Justin Jones. Madison Thorn/Bloomberg/Getty Images
All for naught. Cohen is the only Democrat member of Congress from Tennessee, so unless the courts intervene, Tennessee will likely have an all-Republican congressional delegation come January.
“Last week, Tennessee Republicans silenced the Black vote here in Memphis to make Republican victories likely,” he wrote in his statement posted Friday. “We are still fighting, and if we prevail in the courts and the 9th District remains intact, I will remain a candidate.”
“If not, it has been the honor of my life serving you,” he concluded.
Moreover, Republican Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton notified Democrat House Minority Leader Karen Camper on Tuesday that because of their shameful antics, members of the Democratic Caucus should expect to receive individual letters removing them from all standing committees and subcommittees in the statehouse, “except where membership is required pursuant to Rule 65 of the House Rules.”
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