Marsha Blackburn Calls For Special Legislative Session to Eliminate All Dem House Seats In Her State

Screenshot via Twitter

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) called on her state’s legislature to reconvene on Wednesday to vote to eliminate all the House districts in the state held by Democrats.

Blackburn’s call came after the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a House district draw in Louisiana to ensure a minority-majority balance was illegal. The ruling, which critics warned gutted the Voting Rights Act’s minority protections, immediately left legal analysts and pundits to speculate just how far-reaching the landmark ruling’s impact may be in the upcoming midterms.

Blackburn wasted no time in answering that question, writing on X, “I urge our state legislature to reconvene to redistrict another Republican seat in Memphis. It’s essential to cement @realDonaldTrump’s agenda and the Golden Age of America.”

“I’ve vowed to keep Tennessee a red state, and as Governor, I’ll do everything I can to make this map a reality,” Blackburn added, attaching a map showing Tennessee with all GOP-held districts. Tennessee’s current 9-member House delegation is made up of 8 Republicans and 1 Democrat – Memphis-based Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN).

Tennessee already has one of the country’s most controversial and heavily gerrymandered Congressional maps. In 2022, the state drew a new map that split the Nashville metro area into 3 different districts, diluting the minority voters in the area and flipping a Democrat held House seat.

“Despite my strength at the polls, I could not stop the general assembly from dismembering Nashville. No one tried harder to keep our city whole,” said ex-Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) in a statement announcing his retirement following the 2022 gerrymander. “I explored every possible way, including lawsuits, to stop the gerrymandering and to win one of the three new congressional districts that now divide Nashville. There’s no way, at least for me in this election cycle, but there may be a path for other worthy candidates.”

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