Congressman Cohen Announces Plan for His Political Future

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen, who has represented Tennessee’s 9^th Congressional District for more than 19 years, held a press conference at his office in Washington this morning to announced that he will not be a candidate for any of the newly drawn Congressional seats carved out of the 9^th. His majority-Black district was gerrymandered into three Republican-leaning districts by the state General Assembly last week.

He made the following statement:

“This morning I made public my decision not to run in any of the three gerrymandered congressional districts carved out of the 9^th District I have represented for more than 19 years. The state General Assembly last week diluted the Black vote in thirds to make Republican victories likely. Cases are pending that could restore the 9^th District to its current contours until 2028 and, if we prevail, I will remain a candidate in the 9^th, but that appears unlikely. It has been the honor of a lifetime to represent the people of Memphis in my 47 years of public service, first at the state Constitutional Convention and on the Shelby County Commission, then 24 years in the state Senate and now more than 19 years in Congress. There’s no reason to be modest: No other politician has done more for the city and region – from my decisive vote to create the Regional Medical Center at Memphis (now Regional One), to the state lottery and Hope scholarships that have helped tens of thousands get a college education, to persuading the U.S. Department of Transportation to invest more than $393 million to replace the Interstate 55 bridge, the largest infrastructure investment in the state’s history. At the national level, I was Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties when we held hearings to strengthen the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court has now destroyed. I was the first to introduce complete Articles of Impeachment against Donald Trump. The Center for Effective Lawmaking, a project of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, named me the fifth most effective legislator in the 118^th Congress in its assessment last year. If we prevail in the courts and the 9^th District remains intact for the 2026 mid-term election, I will remain a candidate and will be proud to represent its people for another two years. If not, it has been an honor serving you.”

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