State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) told Marc Elias, the prominent Democratic election attorney and founder of Democracy Docket, that Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District remains highly competitive for Democrats, even after state lawmakers with “evil intention” allegedly divided the district along racial lines.
Pearson made the comments during his Tuesday appearance on “Defending Democracy with Marc Elias,” a podcast produced by the lawyer’s Democracy Docket platform, after first insisting that Tennessee’s recent redistricting, completed in response to the Louisiana v. Callais decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, proved Tennessee is no longer a “constitutional democratic republic.”
Instead, the Tennessee Democrat told Elias, “This is a mobocracy. These people are the mob. These are Klan members without white hoods. They wear suits now.”
According to Pearson, his Republican colleagues in the Tennessee General Assembly “are operating with a level of evil intention that is designed to destroy dissent,” which comes at the direction of State House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), whom the Democrat has repeatedly sparred with since 2023.
“It is about control, it is about abusing your power, it is about silencing dissent, and it is about having the veneer, right, of democracy with the titles,” Pearson told Elias.
Pearson continued, “At the end of the day, Ku Klux Cameron Sexton, he is deciding what can and cannot happen, and ruling, these white Republicans in particular, with an iron fist, to the point that they don’t even get a say.”
Pearson also repeated the claim that Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly used racial demographic data recorded by the census despite their repeated claims that the new maps were drawn to maximize partisan advantages.
“We know they used census data, because that’s what they told us, to see where are the black people, to divide us into thirds and to create districts based around it,” Pearson claimed.
Despite Pearson suggesting the Tennessee General Assembly has succumbed to evil and drew the district along racial lines to diminish the impact of black voters, he and Elias nonetheless argued he could win the general election in November.
“The district, so everyone knows, is only a Republican plus nine district, which means there’s nine points separating the Democrats and Republicans,” said Elias. “Not that long ago, anything below plus 10 one way or the other was considered a swing seat.”
Elias later argued the General Assembly drew a district that remained “eminently winnable” to Pearson, who earlier this week was endorsed by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Pearson agreed, telling Elias that “MAGA Republicans are terrified,” and citing the electoral performance by State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District last year, when she lost to U.S. Representative Matt Van Epps (R-TN-07).
He told Elias, “They know that this is going to be one of the most competitive seats in the United States of America already. We haven’t even got through the primary, and they’re going to have to spend millions and millions and millions of dollars to try and keep it.”
Notably, neither the candidate nor Elias referenced State Senator London Lamar (D-Memphis), who is also vying for the Democratic Party nomination to represent the 9th Congressional District. However, Pearson appeared to take a swipe at U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), who ended his reelection campaign after the district was redrawn, and endorsed Lamar to succeed him.
“I stand up to billionaires and to Donald Trump as well as to Democratic establishment candidates, like the one I was running up against who made $8 million in the stock market while supposedly serving the public,” said Pearson.
Though he did not mention Cohen by name, the Justice Democrats political action committee (PAC) has claimed Cohen “has made 100+ stock trade worth $8.5 million” since 2016. The group, founded by former Sanders staffers, has endorsed Pearson.
Pearson told Elias, “Those are things that they don’t like you to talk about, because the more unprincipled you are, the more you can sway with the wind.”
Voters in the redrawn 9th Congressional District will select their nominees on August 6. Democrats will choose among candidates including Pearson, Lamar, Jim Torino, and M. LaTroy A-Williams, while Republican primary voters select among State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), Jeremy Thompson, Charlotte Bergmann, or State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill).
Watch Pearson’s full appearance on Elias’ podcast:
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Justin Pearson and Marc Elias” by Democracy Docket.
Pearson continues to run his mouth to gain attention for himself only.