Overview
- Cohen, who has represented the Memphis-based 9th District since 2007, said Friday he withdrew from the Democratic primary and will retire unless courts restore his old seat.
- Republican lawmakers approved a new congressional map last week that splits Memphis and Shelby County into three districts that reach into rural, Republican-leaning counties.
- The Cook Political Report now rates the remade 9th as solid Republican, putting the state’s only Democratic U.S. House seat at risk and reducing the voice of its once majority-Black district.
- Multiple lawsuits are challenging the map, and U.S. District Judge Chip Campbell on Thursday kept the new lines and a tightened schedule in place for the Aug. 6 primaries.
- Open primaries are taking shape, with Democrat Justin Pearson still running and Republicans such as Charlotte Bergmann and Kevin Young launching bids as campaigns proceed under the new map.