Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly will reportedly create multiple congressional districts to represent Nashville, and this move will likely benefit the GOP.
This, as state legislators redraw new Congressional maps to comply with required redistricting.
Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) addressed the matter with The Tennessee Star on Monday.
“The House Select Committee on Redistricting will meet Wednesday at 10 a.m. to unveil a fair and constitutional Congressional redistricting plan,” Sexton said in a statement.
“This plan meets all state and federal constitutional and statutory requirements. It also represents the distinctive voices of all Tennesseans.”
Sexton did not elaborate.
On Monday, however, The Hill reported that members of the Tennessee GOP “intend to create multiple congressional seats in Nashville.”
Sexton reportedly told the publication that the exact number is either two or three, representing all of Davidson and Dickson counties as well as part of Cheatham County.
“Though the state’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, has the authority to veto the finalized map, he is not expected to object,” according to The Hill.
Currently, only two of Tennessee’s nine congressmen and congresswomen are Democrats — Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) and Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09).
Entertainment director and producer Robby Starbuck, a Republican, recently declared he intends to defeat Cooper later this year.
Starbuck told The Star on Monday that new districts to represent Nashville are “a tremendous win for the residents of Middle Tennessee.”
“The growth in Middle Tennessee over the past 10 years means that District Five will finally represent Tennessee values through redistricting. People have felt unrepresented for too long,” Starbuck said.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) endorsed Starbuck’s candidacy last year.
Sexton’s announcement , however, displeased at least one Tennessee Democrat — State Senator Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville).
“There’s no pretense this decision is being made in the public interest or an effort to fairly represent Tennesseans. It’s just a brazen attempt to manipulate the rules in order to manipulate the outcomes,” Yarbro said.
“Voters don’t like being used as the means to one political party’s ends, and any narrow benefits to the Republican Party in the very short run will be eclipsed by the damage done.”
Congressional and legislative redistricting occurs once a decade, unless extenuating circumstances occur, such as a court ruling.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
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