Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) announced Friday he will not seek another term in Congress after the Volunteer State’s legislature redrew his Memphis-area district.
Cohen, the lone Democrat in Tennessee’s 11-member House and Senate delegation, has represented the state’s 9th Congressional District since 2007.
The new map, signed into law by Tennessee GOP Gov. Bill Lee May 7, breaks up the deep-blue 9th District, making it part of three Republican-leaning districts.
“I don’t want to quit. I’m not a quitter,” Cohen told reporters in Washington. “But these districts were drawn to beat me.”
The lawmaker is challenging the state’s new map in court and caveated that he would re-enter the race if that lawsuit succeeded in restoring his old congressional district.
Tennessee is scheduled to hold its House and Senate primaries Aug. 6.
