U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) expressed his frustration with The Nation in a letter to the editor published on Thursday by the progressive magazine in response to its recent coverage of the primary challenge launched by State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis).
Cohen’s letter was written in response to the October 8 coverage of Pearson by The Nation, which began by positively comparing the Tennessee Democrat to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for Mayor of New York, and closed by describing Cohen’s campaign slogan as “unfathomable.”
Pearson told The Nation at one point, “I’m not taking any corp money, and I know Cohen has millions in corporate donations,” and the magazine reported that he later described Cohen as, “a veteran Capitol Hill insider who recently purchased a condominium in Washington.”
In his response, Cohen questioned the magazine writer’s familiarity with the district, which includes Memphis and much of the surrounding area.
“The Nation ran what appeared to be a PR piece for a young man who is challenging me for Tennessee’s Ninth Congressional District seat,” wrote Cohen, before describing the article as, “clearly written by someone who knows little about the Memphis area or me.”
Cohen described himself as a lifelong progressive in his letter, suggesting at one point his political beliefs were informed by an early glimpse of former President John F. Kennedy at age 11.
“By the time I was my challenger’s age, I was serving on the Shelby County Commission and had assembled a bipartisan coalition to fund and build a charity hospital then called The MED, now called Regional One,” wrote Cohen.
He wrote that his work in Washington, D.C., involves, “coalition building, bargaining, incremental progress, and legislative discipline,” and not the “speeches and ticker tape parades,” which he seemed to suggest are offered by Pearson.
Cohen additionally extended his rebuke to the Justice Democrats, a political action committee (PAC) which was founded by former staffers for Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The PAC has endorsed Pearson’s primary campaign, and told The Nation that Cohen is, “the model of an average absentee Congressman.”
In his letter, Cohen wrote, “Justice Democrats can call me ‘absentee,’ but that only proves how little they actually know about this district, about me, or about what it takes to do this job effectively,” and cited his rise through the Democratic ranks as evidence of his effectiveness.
Notably absent from Cohen’s letter was any mention of Israel or Palestine, which Pearson raised as a critical distinction between himself and the incumbent in his remarks to the magazine published on October 8.
The interview was published on the same day President Donald Trump successfully negotiated a ceasefire in Gaza, and Pearson told The Nation, “Netanyahu’s government is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”
In contrast to Cohen, who regularly expresses support for Israel despite voting to withhold foreign aid packages which solely benefit the nation, Pearson indicated to the magazine that he would vote to withhold all foreign military support.
“I’m not going to be supporting the sending of billions in bombs overseas, when people in my own district—their houses are sinking, and their kids are hungry,” Pearson told the magazine. “It always amazes me that America will always find billions and billions to fight wars, but won’t do anything like that to fight poverty and hunger.”
Though Pearson is a longtime critic of how Israel waged its war against Hamas, he had not commented on the recent end to the fighting achieved under President Donald Trump at press time. Cohen released a statement calling the ceasefire a “vital first step,” and declaring that the residents of Gaza, “desperately need an increased surge of humanitarian aid.” The Democrat did not reference Trump in his statement.
Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District is ranked solidly Democratic by the Cook Political Report. It is the only remaining Democratic stronghold district in the Volunteer State.
It has been speculated that the district could become safely Republican if the U.S. Supreme Court curtails the Voting Rights Act in a decision expected to be released later this year.
Charlotte Bergmann is the only candidate currently seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Pearson or Cohen in the 2026 midterm elections. During her last campaign in 2024, Bergmann captured 25.7 percent of the vote, while Cohen won with 71.3 percent.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Rep Steve Cohen” by MSNBC.
one of the worst people in the state (cohen) being challenged by one of the biggest idiots in the state. and people will vote for them!
i am a conservative republican but i certainly hope mr cohen beats this communist little rabble rouser who has no idea what life is about.
The squabbling between two leftists is so entertaining….I’m more progressive…no I am. And then Cohen states he got inspiration from JFK. HA! The current democratic party is so far removed from the 20th century democratic party….on second thought maybe not so much when it comes to race relations But the JFK democratic party looks conservative in comparison to the overt extreme socialist crap that now defines the democrats.
Tennessee’s 9th congressional district most be populated with an astounding number of fools.
This district is the prime example that the VRA needs to go. It is “guaranteed” to elect a Black (Dem), yet for 20 years has sent Cohen. Since the majority Black constituents are comfortable with sending a non-Black, there is no need to grant special status based on skin color. If anything, unpacking this district would mean a Black Republican, Miss Bergmann, who has been their nominee many times, could win this seat. That’s a win-win.
How about neither of these two