State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) on Thursday provided The Tennessee Star with confirmation he ordered a $1 million transfer of his personal wealth to his newly launched campaign for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, which will be redrawn after the Tennessee General Assembly passed redistricting legislation.
Taylor’s cash injection comes within hours of the launch of his congressional campaign, which began moments after the State Senate passed legislation to make the 9th Congressional District winnable for a Republican candidate for the first time in more than 50 years. Taylor was immediately endorsed by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), who said he will be a conservative fighter for Memphis and a close ally of President Donald Trump if elected.
The Star also learned that Taylor intends to host the first stop of his congressional campaign on Thursday night in Savannah, Tennessee, which is located in the southeastern corner of West Tennessee.
By funding his campaign with $1 million immediately after launching, Taylor will find himself in a competitive financial position when compared to U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), who Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show had just under $2 million in his campaign bank accounts as of March 31.
Cohen raised just under $660,000 during the first three months of the year, when the district still overwhelmingly leaned Democratic. Most analysts say the newly redrawn district will likely vote deeply Republican.
Despite sailing to reelection repeatedly since voters first sent him to Washington, D.C. in 2006, for months Cohen has been locked into a competitive primary challenge from State Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis).
According to the FEC, Pearson had about $390,000 cash on hand at the start of the quarter, but raised more than $1.1 million during the first quarter of the year.
Before Taylor’s cash injection was publicly reported, and following the immediate endorsements by Blackburn and Hagerty, Taylor picked up an additional Thursday endorsement from Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
“The Undertaker of West TN is running for congress and I’m honored to endorse him,” wrote Jacobs, who performed as Kane in the World Wrestling Entertainment professional wrestling company. Jacobs’ nickname appears to be an allusion to Taylor’s previous career as the owner of multiple funeral homes.
Jacobs added, “Let’s get it done!”
The Tennessee General Assembly passed its newly redrawn districts on Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in Louisiana v. Calais, reining in the prior interpretation of the Voting Rights Act, and making it easier to challenge districts drawn based on race. Governor Bill Lee called the General Assembly into a special session to complete the redistricting last week.
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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 “Brent Taylor” by Brent Taylor.
