Memphis Gets Carved Up. Cohen Is Done.

The most immediate casualty of the 2026 redistricting war is now official. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat who has represented Memphis since 2007, is ending his campaign after Tennessee Republicans redrew his district out from under him.

The Tennessee legislature passed a new congressional map during a May 7 special session that splits Memphis — a majority-Black city — into three separate congressional districts, each one stretching outward into whiter, more Republican suburban and rural territory.

The result: Cohen's old seat effectively doesn't exist anymore. According to NPR's on-the-ground reporting from Memphis, Poplar Avenue — a road that has connected the city for over two centuries — is now literally a boundary line dividing the city's residents into three different congressional fiefdoms. All three are expected to be held by Republicans.

The Legal Argument Tennessee Republicans Are Making

Republicans have an actual legal argument. Maury County GOP Chair Jason Gilliam told NPR directly: "We have people who are upset and angry because the lines as they are drawn do exactly what we have been fighting to do in this country for years and years and years. It almost sounds to me like they're asking for us to segregate based on race because they don't want" integration of voters across geographic lines.

The old map packed Black Democratic voters into a single district. Republicans say dispersing them is actually more representative of how the state's population is distributed. Democrats say it's deliberate dilution of Black voting power.

Tennessee is also not acting alone. According to NPR, it is the first of several Southern states rushing to redraw maps following the Supreme Court decision that weakened the racial discrimination provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Texas: Democrats Who Fled the State Get to Keep Their Seats

Meanwhile in Texas, a separate redistricting drama just got a resolution. The Texas Supreme Court ruled against removing Democratic state lawmakers who staged a quorum break — meaning they physically left the state to deny Republicans the votes needed to pass a redistricting bill.

According to AP News, the court rejected the removal effort. The Democrats who fled get to keep their positions.

The ruling sets a precedent: walking out of your legislative chamber to block a vote — even on something as consequential as redistricting — does NOT automatically cost you your seat. Expect this tactic to be studied, and possibly repeated, in other states facing similar fights.

Left-leaning outlets are framing the Texas ruling as a win for democracy. Quorum-breaking is also a refusal to do the job voters elected you to do. These are not necessarily incompatible positions.

Power Vacuums: Pelosi and Nadler Retire. The Fights Are Already Vicious.

Separate from redistricting but directly connected to the 2026 House picture: Nancy Pelosi and Jerry Nadler are both retiring, according to The New York Times, and the succession battles in San Francisco and Manhattan are already fierce.

These are two of the safest Democratic districts in the country. The real election is the primary. Whoever wins gets instant access to massive donor networks and potentially significant influence over where the Democratic Party goes next.

The NYT notes the fights could "shape the Democratic Party" going forward. Pelosi's seat in particular represents a generational handoff — her fundraising machine is one of the most powerful in American politics.

This is a story about Democratic internal power, not redistricting. But it's happening simultaneously with Republican map-redrawing, and the party is fighting over its future identity while Republicans redraw the map it has to compete on.

What Mainstream Coverage Is Getting Wrong

Left-leaning outlets are treating every Republican redistricting move as self-evidently illegitimate.

Some of these maps probably are partisan gerrymanders. Others are defensible under current law — because the Supreme Court changed what the law requires.

Meanwhile, the conservative press is largely ignoring the real-world human stories coming out of Memphis — communities that have been represented as a unit for decades are now being told their votes will be absorbed into suburban districts with different priorities.

The 2026 Redistricting War

The redistricting fight just got three new data points: a veteran Democratic congressman is out in Tennessee, Texas Democrats who abandoned their posts get to stay anyway, and two of the most powerful seats in Congress are up for grabs in deep-blue cities.

Republicans are consolidating map gains. Democrats are fighting in court and in primaries. And regular voters in cities like Memphis are being told the communities they live in no longer count as a single voice in Washington.