In a major blow to House Democrats already reeling from tough midterm math, longtime Rep. Steve Cohen is bailing on his reelection bid in Tennessee after two decades of clinging to a Memphis-area seat that existed only because of the racially gerrymandered lines courts have finally forced out of existence.
The 9th District map overhaul—part of the broader post-2020 redistricting shakeup—has stripped away the protective carve-out that kept the veteran Democrat known for eating fried chicken during a hearing in power, handing Republicans a prime opportunity to flip the seat red in November.
And to think, Democrats have Hakeem Jeffries and Virginia leadership to thank for all of this.
🚨 JUST NOW: Rep. STEVE COHEN (D-TN) is DROPPING OUT of his reelection campaign, after his cheated-in racially-drawn Tennessee district got removed
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 15, 2026
Cohen, who has been in the discriminatory seat for 2 DECADES, is officially DONE 🔥
Temu Obama Hakeem is having another horrible… pic.twitter.com/lBSjdtTJoX
Post continues:
... Friday! 9R-0D map taking full effect, time to replace him with a Republican.
The rest of the South needs to finish strong. KEEP REDRAWING.
Go go go!
I love it when Temu Obama has a terrible day.
— JustSoYouKnow✝️🇺🇸🦅 (@JSYKRobert) May 15, 2026
Same, bro. Same.
An old white dude is being replaced with a black woman
— Matt (@the_matt) May 15, 2026
Democrats be like:
This is Jim Crow 2.0!!
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They certainly aren't the brightest crayons in the box, now are they?
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