Federal Judges Uphold Tennessee’s Redrawn Congressional Map Favoring Republicans

Tennessee’s newly redrawn congressional map will remain in effect for the state’s August 6 primary after federal judges rejected a challenge from Black voters and civil rights groups. The three-judge panel determined that partisan motivation, rather than racial discrimination, drove the redistricting decision, clearing the way for a map projected to deliver Republicans nine House seats across the state.

The lawsuit challenged Tennessee lawmakers’ decision to redraw the congressional map during a May special session following the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais ruling, which raised the bar for proving racial discrimination in redistricting cases. The new boundaries split Memphis and Shelby County into three districts, eliminating Tennessee’s only majority-Black congressional district that previously existed.

In their ruling, the judges—two Trump appointees and one Obama appointee—found the plaintiffs lacked sufficient evidence to prove race motivated the redistricting. The panel distinguished the case from Cooper v. Harris, a 2017 Supreme Court decision where justices found direct evidence of racial intent, writing that the plaintiffs presented “a far cry” from that “smoking gun” standard.

Plaintiffs cited the map’s elimination of the majority-minority district, lawmakers’ use of racial demographic data, the unusual mid-decade timing, and Tennessee’s history of discrimination as evidence. However, judges concluded the state could have achieved its stated political objectives through the same map regardless of racial considerations.

Plaintiff Amber Sherman called the decision “painful,” stating that the ruling perpetuates disenfranchisement of Black Memphis voters. The underlying lawsuit continues despite the preliminary injunction denial, she noted in a statement expressing frustration that Black voters lack equal opportunity to influence policy decisions affecting their communities.

Tennessee joins at least seven other Republican-led states pursuing mid-decade redistricting since Trump encouraged the strategy, with GOP operatives targeting gains in Texas, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Alabama, and Louisiana. Democrats have countered with redistricting efforts in California, Utah, and Virginia, though Virginia’s new map was subsequently invalidated by that state’s highest court.