Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced Friday that he is ending his bid for reelection, saying redistricting battles in the wake of a recent Supreme Court decision have overturned the political foundation of his campaign. Cohen, who has represented a Memphis-based district for about two decades, said he does not want to quit but argued that new district lines were drawn to defeat him.
Cohen said Republicans in Tennessee enacted a new U.S. House map this month that carves up a district he described as a majority-Black seat, reshaping it to the GOP’s advantage as redistricting fights sweep through states ahead of the November midterm elections. In remarks in his Washington office, Cohen told reporters he is challenging the map in court and said he would return to the race if the lawsuit succeeds in restoring his prior congressional district.
“I don’t want to quit. I’m not a quitter. But these districts were drawn to beat me,” Cohen said, speaking from his Washington, D.C., office. He also tied his decision to the broader national strategy he sees behind the map, saying the redistricting effort is being carried out “for Donald Trump to get one more vote, he thinks, to stop him from being impeached.”
Cohen, a longtime member of the House Judiciary Committee who has focused on strengthening voting access and civil rights, also highlighted what he called the significance of his seat. He said it was “unique in America that an African-American majority district has elected a white guy,” and said he and the district represented a relationship in which he has long had support. He also noted that he is the first Jewish person to represent Tennessee in Congress.
Ahead of Cohen’s announcement, he had been facing a primary challenge from state lawmaker Justin Pearson, a Black progressive who represents much of Memphis in Tennessee’s General Assembly. Pearson told The Associated Press that “The status quo is failing us” and said it was “time for new energy, new voices, and new ideas,” adding that he started to run for that reason. Pearson said he still intends to run in Tennessee’s redrawn 9th Congressional District, which now includes multiple rural counties that backed Trump by double-digit margins.
Pearson acknowledged the task would be harder under the new district boundaries, but said, “We’re going to win,” adding that “if the mountain was smooth, you couldn’t climb it.” He said his message would not change and argued that his agenda could have appeal to rural, working-class, white conservatives as well as Memphis voters.
Cohen said he predicted it would be nearly impossible for Tennessee Democrats to win a seat in Congress with the new districts. He warned that there was still a possibility the effort could “backfire on the Republicans,” but he said that would require an “unbelievable registration effort among Democrats” and a massive turnout.
Cohen’s comments also framed his remaining time in Congress as an effort to oppose Trump. He said he was worried that Memphis voters would no longer have a voice in Washington, and he pointed to photos of local projects he said he had championed during his tenure. He also recounted working with Tennessee’s Republican leaders to secure funding during the Biden administration for a larger bridge to cross the Mississippi River into Memphis.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that Cohen is “a powerful champion for civil rights,” and that “the City of Memphis, the Congress and the nation are better because of Steve’s commitment to making a difference.” Cohen added that Republicans’ redistricting plan aimed to help Trump, a claim he made as he vowed to keep using his remaining time to mount opposition to the president, calling Trump “the greatest threat to democracy and to decorum and grace that we’ve ever seen.”
The announcement also drew on Cohen’s long public profile, including colorful outbursts during congressional debates and hearings. In 2019, Cohen brought a bucket of fried chicken to a House Judiciary Committee hearing where he said then-Attorney General William P. Barr did not appear, and he said in a statement at the time that “The message is Attorney General Bill Barr is not brave enough to answer questions from a staff attorney and members of the Judiciary Committee.” During the Jan. 6, 2021, period when Congress tried to certify the presidential election results, Cohen screamed at his Republican colleagues, telling them, “Call Trump. Call your friend. Tell him to do something,” according to the Associated Press account of the moment.
Memphis activists said they were grappling with the new political map after Republican-led legislative changes divided the city’s longtime congressional district into three neighboring districts. Advocates said they believed they could work with—and pressure—any lawmaker who represents Memphis. Tierney Macon, an activist with The Equity Alliance, told The Associated Press, “Things are going to change. We’re aware of that,” and said activists aimed to hold the city’s new congressional representatives accountable no matter their party. “We just have to be engaged,” Macon said.
The redistricting effort has unfolded after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that significantly weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities, and Tennessee was the first state to pass new congressional districts following that decision. The Associated Press reported that more Southern states could follow, with Republicans in Louisiana, Alabama and South Carolina also taking steps toward redistricting. Cohen’s announcement landed as those battles continue and as Democrats weigh the political impact of new district lines shaped in part by the ruling’s changes to voting-rights enforcement.