Justin J. Pearson announced his run for Tennessee's 9th Congressional District Wednesday morning at Alonzo Weaver Park in Memphis. Now serving his second term in the state legislature, Pearson captured national attention when he — along with fellow Democratic state Reps. Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson — weathered backlash from Republican colleagues for protesting lax gun laws in the wake of the 2023 Covenant School shooting as one of the “Tennessee Three.” His campaign is a direct challenge to Tennessee’s reigning elected Democrat, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a longtime Memphis politician currently serving his 10th term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Pearson first rose to prominence in 2020 as a key organizer behind community opposition to a proposed crude oil pipeline running through South Memphis. He ran for and won his seat in the state House in a December 2022 special election following the death of incumbent Barbara Lee Cooper. Less than four months later, Republican lawmakers expelled Pearson, along with fellow first-term Democrat Jones of Nashville, for protesting gun laws on the floor of the House chamber after the Covenant School shooting, vaulting Pearson into the national spotlight and earning him an invitation to the White House. Both Jones and Pearson were quickly returned to their seats by local leadership in their respective districts.
Memphis Democrat follows Nashville's Justin Jones back to the legislature after expulsions
Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District remains the only seat at the federal level held by a Democrat in Tennessee. Memphis’ majority-Black constituency affords certain legal protections to the district under the Voting Rights Act of 1964 — meaning it was kept intact by Republicans during the 2022 redistricting process that saw Nashville split into three seats. Cohen, who is white, has held the seat since 2006.
“For too long, our district has been told to ‘keep going’ with the same leadership and the same outcomes, even as Memphis’ poverty rate at 22.6 percent is nearly double the rate for all Tennesseans,” Pearson said in his announcement. “Our median income in 2024 was only 65 percent of the national average. Poverty persists across neighborhoods, and we’ve seen significantly less federal investment compared to other communities in Tennessee. We can’t afford more of the same. It’s time for a new vision — one that matches the scale of our challenges with the urgency our people deserve.”
In recent weeks, Pearson has spoken out against the presence of National Guard troops in Shelby County, which he deems a military occupation. His campaign is focused on specific economic issues related to Memphians’ standard of living, like affordable housing, health care, labor rights, a higher wage standard and veterans’ services. Pearson will face Cohen — who recently reported more than $1.7 million in campaign cash — in the 2026 Democratic primary, which has not yet been announced. The general election will take place Nov. 3 2026.
