The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation allowing the state to establish a new congressional district map on Thursday that Republicans say will “maximize alignment of political representation with Tennessee’s voter preferences.”
Under the new map, Memphis, the state’s only majority-Black district which has been represented by a Democratic congressman since 1983, will no longer anchor a single congressional seat and instead will be divided among three districts.
Republicans said the move to adopt a new congressional map is “a direct response” to the U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the cases Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and Louisiana v. Callais.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) who, along with Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), led the effort to redraw Tennessee’s congressional districts, said he is “proud of the dedication shown by House and Senate members in coming together to pass meaningful, effective legislation for the benefit of all Tennesseans.”
Johnson said the new congressional map “reflects…in a fair and constitutional way” how Tennessee voters have “consistently chosen conservative leadership and conservative values,” adding, “At a time when the future of our country is at stake, states like Tennessee have a responsibility to stand up and lead.”
Thursday’s final vote came amid significant protests and disruption inside the Capitol complex.
As demonstrators chanted in the galleries and hallways, Democratic State Senator Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) was seen standing on her desk in the Senate chamber, yelling and holding a banner denouncing the redistricting as a “Jim Crow” effort. Video also shows Oliver attempting to wrestle the sign back from a Senate Sergeant at Arms.
Other Democrats linked arms at the front of the chamber as voting was underway. In the Tennessee House, voting was disrupted by protesters and Democratic lawmakers, who used whistles, air horns, and other props to protest the new map.
State Representative Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville), who is running for Congress in Tennessee’s 6th District, said during voting, “insane radicals from the Democratic Party literally took over my desk trying to stop me from voting…[.]”
Republican leadership ultimately adjourned the three-day special session shortly after the final vote, sending the new map to Governor Bill Lee to be signed into law.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X.
The solution to what the Democrats declare to be a problem is for the Democrat Party to propose policies that appeal to the voters. Several years ago I had a Democrat Representative. I suppose he was in Washington too long as his actions grew further and further to the liberal left from the social and fiscal desires of his constituents. He got fired and rightfully so.
I am sure I missed the “outrage” from these fine folks, that acted like absolute idiots yesterday, when California, Maryland, Virginia, New York and others did the same thing. I don’t recall them jumping around like a bunch of 3 year olds that didn’t get their way when these states did even worse. It has become very clear that the socialist/Marxist that the Democratic party has become will stop at nothing to show how to act like what they are. Sad time for our Republic because everything they have a problem with is not racist.
Good, now go arrest Justin jones and Pearson and throw them out of the state legislature forever!
-Any way you draw congressional districts benefits one political party and hurts others
-The new Tennessee congressional district map makes our districts more “diverse.”
-The new Tennessee congressional map is less contorted than that of many Democrat controlled states – In particular Illinois, the would be Virginia map, and others
-You cannot draw congressional district based on race without making assumptions about race – Isn’t making assumptions about race “racism?”