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Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor is projected to face off against state Rep. Justin Pearson (D) for retiring Rep. Steve Cohen’s (D) House seat in Tennessee in the fall – putting the Republican one step closer to joining Congress after the district was redrawn to heavily favor the party, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Taylor, who is backed by President Trump, fended off three other Republican challengers: small business owner Charlotte Bergmann, retired U.S. Army Sgt. Jeremy Thompson and state Rep. Todd Warner.
Meanwhile, Pearson defeated three other Democrats, including former healthcare executive Jim Torino, state Sen. London Lamar and perennial candidate M. LaTroya A-Williams.
Taylor is likely to win the seat in November given the redistricted seat’s new Republican leanings.
Pearson gained national attention as a part of the “Tennessee Three” — a trio of state legislators that participated in a gun control protest on the state House floor in 2023. Pearson and then-state Rep. Justin Jones (D) were expelled, but later reinstated to their seats.
Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District currently captures the southwestern corner of the state around Memphis and voted former Vice President Harris by 21 percentage points in 2024, according to The Downballot.
But Republican redrew the Volunteer State’s congressional lines earlier this year at the urging of Trump after the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision dismantling the Voting Rights Act.
Tennessee Republicans passed a map in May that redrew Cohen’s seat to become more comfortably Republican, creating a district that runs across over half of the state’s southern border and curves into Middle Tennessee. Shelby County, home to Memphis, is split between three congressional districts.
Cohen, who had originally intended to seek reelection, said he would be forgoing another House bid over the new House lines.
The map also resisted court challenges, with a federal judge panel ultimately allowing the GOP to use its new map in time for the midterms.
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