Tennessee Republicans propose gerrymandered U.S. House map
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Image: courtesy of Tennessee Senate Republicans
Tennessee Republicans released a gerrymandered U.S. House map on Wednesday that would carve up the Black-majority Democratic district in Memphis.
Why it matters: The GOP wants to eliminate the state's only blue congressional district to secure a 9-0 sweep of all of the state's U.S. House seats.
- The proposed map, which would split Memphis across three different districts, must still be approved by the legislature. A barrage of legal challenges is already in the works.
Catch up quick: President Trump and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn pushed Tennessee leaders to draw new maps as Republicans scratch and claw to retain control of Congress in the midterms.
- Both parties are locked in a national arms race to redraw district boundaries to their advantage.
- The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last week in a lawsuit over Louisiana's districts set the stage for Tennessee Republicans to draw up new maps. House Speaker Cameron Sexton said the ruling allowed states to "redistrict based off partisan politics."
The intrigue: The resulting map features contorted districts that zigzag across the state in order to pair parts of Memphis with large pockets of conservative rural voters.
- Districts twist through slivers of liberal Memphis in the west and into the affluent conservative Nashville suburbs more than 200 miles away in Williamson County.
- Of note: Republicans divided Maury County so that U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles and his top challenger, the Democrat Chaz Molder, would be drawn into separate districts despite the fact that they live in the same community.
Zoom in: Ogles' new District 5 seat would be jigsawed to stretch from the southwest corner of the state in Shelby County all the way to the Kentucky border in the north and then back down into suburban counties south of Nashville.
In the room: Memphis' District 9 seat currently held by Rep. Steve Cohen has long been drawn as a Black-majority district that includes the whole city and surrounding suburbs.
- The debate over how to redraw District 9 divided Republican leaders, who consulted the White House for guidance, according to the Tennessee Journal.
- Some Republican leaders wanted to draw the lines so that state Sen. Brent Taylor could run for the District 9 seat.
Zoom out: Nashville's congressional representation would change under the plan. Ogles' District 5 would no longer include Davidson County. But the city would still be split three ways.
- The bulk of the county would be represented by newcomer U.S. Rep. Matt Van Epps in District 7.
- A swath of the eastern portion of the county would be remain in U.S. Rep. John Rose's sixth district.
- District 4, represented by U.S. Rep. Scott Desjarlais of rural Marion County, would shift to veer into the culturally diverse Antioch area.
What he's saying: "Tennessee is a conservative state and our congressional delegation should reflect that," Republican state Sen. John Stevens, who is sponsoring legislation with the new maps, said in a statement. "This bill ensures it does."
What's next: Republicans must approve the map, but also create new qualifying rules for this year's election. The primary is set to take place in August.
- Legal challenges are certain to follow once the new laws and corresponding map are approved by the legislature.