Tennessee’s redrawn Memphis map gets its first election test

Tennessee’s new Memphis-area congressional map received its first election test on August 6, producing a November matchup between Democrat Justin Pearson and Republican Brent Taylor in the redrawn 9th Congressional District. Republican Rep. Andy Ogles also lost his primary in the substantially reshaped 5th District.

The results show how the new lines changed the contests around Memphis. They do not resolve the federal lawsuit challenging the map or, by themselves, establish what effect the districts will have on Black voting power.

New lines, new November contest

Pearson won the Democratic nomination in the new 9th District, while Taylor won the Republican nomination. The district retains the 9th number but has a substantially different electorate from the former Memphis-based seat. It stretches about 200 miles east from Memphis across rural areas before reaching north toward the Nashville suburbs, according to the Associated Press.

AP estimated that 71% of voters in the new 9th District are new to the district. The November race will therefore test whether a Democrat can remain competitive after Memphis-area voters were distributed across a larger electorate that now leans Republican.

Ogles’ defeat was a separate consequence of the redesign. Former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher defeated the Trump-endorsed incumbent in the Republican primary for the new 5th District. The district now stretches from Ogles’ base in central Tennessee toward the northwest corner of the state before running south along the Mississippi River to Memphis. AP estimated that 82% of its voters are new to Ogles’ district.

The result reflects a changed electorate and a contested Republican primary. It should not be presented as a direct legal consequence of the federal court’s ruling or as proof that the map alone changed Tennessee’s statewide political balance.

How Memphis was divided

The former 9th District was a compact Memphis-based seat with a 61.1% Black voting-age population, according to the federal court record. It had historically elected Democratic candidates by margins of 40 percentage points or more.

The map enacted in May divided Memphis and Shelby County among three congressional districts and split the former majority-Black 9th into three majority-White districts, the court record says. The new 9th District should not be confused with the former seat: the number remains, but the boundaries and electorate changed substantially. Longtime Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen announced that he would not seek reelection after the boundaries changed.

Tennessee lawmakers approved the plan during an extraordinary session held from May 5 through May 7. The House passed the map bill 64-25, with three members present and not voting, and the Senate passed it 25-5. The legislation took effect May 7 and was recorded as Public Chapter 3 on June 3, according to the Tennessee General Assembly.

What the court allowed — and did not decide

On July 23, a three-judge federal panel declined to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the map before the primary. That allowed Tennessee to use the new districts for the August election and, for now, the November 3 general election.

The ruling was not a final approval of the map or a final decision on the constitutional claims. In Sherman v. Hargett, the plaintiffs allege that the boundaries were racially discriminatory and retaliatory and weakened Black voting power. State officials and Republican lawmakers have argued that the map was driven by partisan political goals. The legal standards for partisan gerrymandering and racial discrimination are different, and the panel’s preliminary ruling did not end the case.

The panel found that the plaintiffs had not met the standard for preliminary relief at that stage, including showing a substantial likelihood of prevailing on their claims. The underlying lawsuit remains unresolved, so later court action could affect the map or its future use.

What happens next

The next major electoral test is the November 3 general election, when Pearson and Taylor will compete in the new 9th District. The result will provide additional evidence about how the redesigned electorate functions, but it will not substitute for a final ruling on the lawsuit.

Memphis-area voters who need to confirm their current district, ballot information or other election details can use Tennessee’s GoVoteTN voter information portal. The portal’s district information is supplied through local county election commissions.

Sources

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