Trump says Tennessee next to redistrict after Supreme Court ruling
President Donald Trump said he spoke with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee about redrawing the state’s congressional map to help Republicans gain “one extra seat.” The push comes after a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing states more flexibility in redistricting under the Voting Rights Act, raising the standard for what counts as racial gerrymandering.
Tennessee’s current House map is 8-1 in favor of Republicans, with the lone Democratic district based on a majority-black interpretation. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), running to succeed Lee, has called for removing that only Democratic district. The article notes that Tennessee Republicans redrew the map in 2022, splitting nashville into more GOP-leaning districts.
It also says Republicans may face major hurdles to complete new redistricting before the midterms: the deadline to qualify for the August primary has passed, and any effort to change districts ahead of November would likely trigger opposition and legal challenges.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had a “very good” conversation with Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) about redrawing Tennessee’s congressional map to give the GOP “one extra seat.”
The president’s plan to push redistricting in the Volunteer State comes after the Supreme Court on Wednesday handed down a ruling on the Voting Rights Act that gives states more freedom to redraw congressional maps without prioritizing racial outcomes by raising the bar for what qualifies as racial gerrymandering.
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“I had a very good conversation with Governor Bill Lee, of Tennessee, this morning, wherein he stated that he would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “This should give us one extra seat, and help Save our Country from the Radical Left Democrats, and their Country destroying Policies of High Tax, Open Borders, Transgender Mutilization, Defunding the Police, ICE, and Border Patrol, No Voter ID, Soft on Crime, and so much more.”
Tennessee’s congressional map is currently split 8-1 in favor of Republicans. The one Democratic voting district has historically been a majority-black district that includes Memphis, based on the previous interpretation of the Voting Rights Act.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who is running to succeed Lee, said Wednesday following the Supreme Court’s decision that she wants to redistrict the state to eliminate the state’s only Democratic district.
Blackburn pitched the idea as solidifying Trump’s agenda and “the Golden Age of America.”
Tennessee’s Republican-controlled legislature redrew its map in 2022, which splits Nashville, a Democratic stronghold, into three GOP-leaning districts.
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Despite the Supreme Court ruling, Tennessee Republicans face an uphill battle to redraw the state’s districts before the midterm elections and secure an additional GOP seat in the House.
The deadline to qualify for the August primary has already passed, and any push to redistrict in time for November would draw Democratic opposition and legal challenges.
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