Steve Cohen
Tennessee's only Democratic congressman, holding Memphis's TN-9; targeted for elimination in post-Callais redistricting.
Last refreshed: 7 May 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Is Steve Cohen's Memphis seat legally defensible after the Callais ruling guts VRA Section 2?
Timeline for Steve Cohen
Four states queue maps after Callais ruling
US Midterms 2026- Who is Steve Cohen and why is his seat under threat?
- Steve Cohen is Tennessee's only Democratic congressman, representing TN-9 in Memphis since 2007. His majority-minority seat was drawn partly under VRA Section 2 protections that the Callais ruling has weakened, prompting Governor Bill Lee to call an extraordinary legislative session to redraw it.Source: Lowdown
- What does the Callais ruling mean for majority-minority congressional districts?
- Louisiana v. Callais weakened the VRA Section 2 mandate that required states to draw districts giving minority communities a fair chance to elect representatives of their choice. States like Tennessee are now exploiting this to redraw majority-minority seats like Cohen's TN-9.Source: Supreme Court of the United States
- How long has Steve Cohen represented Memphis?
- Steve Cohen has represented TN-9, the Memphis district, since first being elected in 2006 and sworn in in 2007. He is the state's longest-serving Democratic congressman.
Background
Steve Cohen holds Tennessee's 9th congressional district, the Memphis seat he has represented since 2007. He is the state's only Democratic congressman. Within 24 hours of the Louisiana v. Callais ruling on 29 April 2026, Governor Bill Lee called an extraordinary legislative session specifically targeting TN-9, making Cohen the immediate focus of Tennessee's post-Callais redistricting cascade.
TN-9 is a majority-minority district centred on Memphis and Shelby County, drawn in part to comply with VRA Section 2 requirements. Callais's undermining of those requirements gives Tennessee Republicans a legal opening that was not available in previous redistricting cycles. Cohen's long tenure and seniority as a senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee makes him a symbolically significant target.
Cohen's situation is the sharpest individual test of what Callais means in practice: a sitting congressman whose district was explicitly protected by a law the Supreme Court has now partially dismantled.