Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen announced he is dropping his bid for reelection in Tennessee’s ninth congressional district, citing last week’s GOP-led redistricting that split Memphis and left his district fundamentally changed.
Washington — Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee is walking away from his reelection fight after redistricting reshaped the political map in his Memphis-area district.
Cohen said Friday that he would not seek another term in the ninth congressional district. a seat he has held since 2007.. At age 76. he described the moment as the most difficult of his elected career and said he is retiring from public life. even after weighing the possibility of running in one of the new districts.
“This is by far the most difficult moment I’ve had as an elected official,” Cohen said as he opened his remarks.
The change Cohen pointed to came from Tennessee’s legislature, where Republicans hold control.. The GOP-dominated state legislature voted last week to redraw district lines, and Cohen said it affected his district in Memphis.. The move drew protests. with critics arguing that lawmakers split the Memphis population into parts of several different districts that lean more Republican.
Cohen, a fourth-generation resident of the Memphis area and Tennessee’s only Democrat in Congress, said he “considered” running elsewhere. But he said the new districts are “nothing like the ninth district that I’ve represented,” stressing how different the political reality is after the redraw.
“I’ve had the great honor to represent the ninth district for the last 19 and a half years. And it’s been a district that is a majority African-American district,” he said.
Over his time in Congress, Cohen served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Judiciary Committee, and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. His focus included civil rights and policing reform.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries praised Cohen’s record in a statement. saying Cohen “has been a powerful champion for civil rights. ” including leading passage of a resolution issuing the first formal apology for slavery in the U.S.. Jeffries added that Cohen led hearings on the Voting Rights Act. police reform. and racial justice. “reaffirming his commitment to making true America’s promise of equality and justice for all.”
With Cohen’s announcement, the ninth district’s future contest changes shape just as Tennessee’s redistricting battle continues to reverberate, leaving the state’s Democrats with a high-stakes vacancy at a moment when the district map has been redrawn around Memphis.
Steve Cohen Tennessee ninth district redistricting Memphis Hakeem Jeffries civil rights policing reform Voting Rights Act