A panel of federal judges allowed Tennessee’s new congressional map to take effect, despite objections that it divides Memphis’s majority-Black district among three separate constituencies. The decision mattered because the redistricting plan was expected to reduce Black voters’ ability to elect their preferred candidate and strengthen Republican prospects in the area.

The map split the former Memphis-based 9th Congressional District, long represented by Democrat Steve Cohen, into districts extending into predominantly white and more Republican areas. Plaintiffs argued the plan was racially discriminatory and unlawfully diluted Black voting power, while state officials said it reflected political rather than racial considerations; the court did not block it before the 2022 elections.