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A federal three-judge panel on Thursday cleared the way for Tennessee to use its newly redrawn congressional map in this year’s elections, handing Republicans another legal victory as they seek to expand their narrow U.S. House majority in the 2026 midterms.
The ruling allows the state’s revised congressional districts to remain in place for the Aug. 6 primary elections after the panel declined to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the map. The districts were redrawn by the Republican-controlled legislature in May following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters.
The new map dismantles the Memphis-area congressional district that had long been the state’s only majority-Black district. Instead, the city was divided among three separate congressional districts, a move critics argue dilutes Black voting strength while Republicans maintain it was designed solely to improve GOP electoral prospects.
In a unanimous opinion, the panel — made up of two judges appointed by President Donald Trump and one appointed by former President Barack Obama — concluded that the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed in proving racial discrimination.
“The road to a reliably 9-0 map runs through Memphis,” the judges wrote, concluding that political considerations sufficiently explained the legislature’s decision to redraw the district.
Legal challenge centers on race
The lawsuit, filed by Memphis voters and voting-rights advocates, argued that Republican lawmakers intentionally weakened Black political representation in violation of the U.S. Constitution by dismantling a district that had consistently allowed Black voters to elect their preferred candidate.
Republican lawmakers countered that the map was drawn for partisan reasons rather than racial ones, noting that the Supreme Court has ruled political gerrymandering claims are generally beyond the reach of federal courts.
State attorneys also argued that lawmakers deliberately avoided using racial data while designing the map.
“Racial data was turned off,” attorney Taylor Meehan, representing Tennessee election officials, told the court. “The map was drafted for politics.”
Memphis district reshaped
For roughly two decades, the Memphis-based district had elected Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, who is white but represented a majority-Black constituency. Under the new map, Cohen’s district stretches hundreds of miles east before turning north toward the Nashville suburbs.
Cohen announced shortly after lawmakers approved the new boundaries that he would not seek reelection.
The changes come after the Supreme Court’s April ruling striking down Louisiana’s majority-Black congressional district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, a decision that significantly narrowed the scope of protections previously available under the Voting Rights Act.
That ruling has prompted several Republican-led states to redraw congressional maps in ways that reduce minority voting influence while arguing the changes are based on political, not racial, considerations.
Republicans seek House gains
Tennessee is one of at least eight Republican-controlled states to redraw congressional districts since last year as GOP leaders attempt to strengthen their position ahead of November’s midterm elections.
President Donald Trump has publicly encouraged Republican legislatures to pursue mid-decade redistricting efforts in hopes of preserving the party’s slim House majority.
Voting-rights advocates argue the strategy disproportionately affects communities of color, particularly in Southern states where minority voters have historically been concentrated in districts that elect Democratic candidates.
Plaintiffs vow to continue fight
Amber Sherman, a Memphis voter and plaintiff in the lawsuit, criticized the ruling, saying Black voters would head into the election under district lines that weaken their political influence.
“We deserve the same opportunity to shape our future as anyone else,” Sherman said. “When our voting power is diluted, our neighborhoods have a harder time making their voices heard on the issues that shape our daily lives.”
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs argued that Tennessee’s Republican legislature intentionally targeted the state’s largest concentration of Black voters. Ari Savitzky of the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project said lawmakers dismantled “the state’s lone pocket of Black political power in federal elections.”
What’s next
Because early voting began July 17 and ballots have already been printed using the new congressional boundaries, the court noted that changing the map before the August primary would create significant election administration challenges.
The case will continue as the broader constitutional challenge proceeds, but Thursday’s ruling ensures Tennessee’s revised congressional districts will be used in this year’s primary and general elections.
