U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen dropped his reelection campaign Friday, essentially announcing his own retirement after 20 years representing Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District. The state's Republican supermajority redrew the seat — which has long been a majority-Black district in Memphis protected from gerrymandering by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — during last week’s special session on redistricting.
“I don’t want to quit,” Cohen told reporters in his Washington, D.C., office, according to the Associated Press. "I’m not a quitter. But these districts were drawn to beat me."
Cohen announced retirement with one caveat — should Democrats’ court challenge succeed in stopping the new maps, he plans to reenter the race. As of Friday, Cohen was no longer listed as a qualified candidate in the district.
Even before redistricting, Cohen faced a stiff primary challenge from state Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis). On Tuesday, Pearson announced that he will continue his campaign in the new 9th District, which stretches from east Memphis to Williamson County. The district is now one of three seats, along with the 5th and 8th, that include Memphis' large share of predominantly Democratic voters. As a majority-Black district, the city was protected from redistricting by Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a major victory of the civil rights movement, until a Supreme Court decision struck down that provision in late April.
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During the special session, Cohen was a fixture in the halls of the Tennessee State Capitol, opposing the late GOP move to shift districts toward Republican voters. He showed off his oratory skills, honed over two decades in congressional committees, as state Democrats’ guest at the week’s contentious hearings. Cohen is the first Jewish person to represent Tennessee in U.S. Congress and the last remaining Democrat in the state's congressional delegation after legislators in 2022 redrew Tennessee's 5th Congressional District, leading to the retirement of Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper.
"Serving in public office is hard and important work," Pearson says in a statement following Cohen's announcement. "Steve has served for 43 years from the County Commission to Congress. I wish him the best in his retirement and hope that he will be willing to help us rebuild and mobilize Democrats across the state and nation to end the tyranny of this federal government and also address the crises plaguing our communities."
Besides Pearson, state Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) will vie for Democrats’ nomination in the district. State Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) and state Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) also moved swiftly to file necessary paperwork setting up campaigns in the now-open seat.
