Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen drops reelection bid after redistricting

Washington — Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced Friday that he’s dropping his bid for reelection in Tennessee’s ninth congressional district, a seat he’s held since 2007. 

He made the decision in light of the Tennessee legislature’s redistricting affected his district in the Memphis area. Cohen, 76, is Tennessee’s only Democrat in Congress. He said he’ll be retiring from public life.

“This is by far the most difficult moment I’ve had as an elected official,” Cohen said as he opened his remarks.

He said he “considered” running in one of the new districts, but said they are “nothing like the ninth district that I’ve represented.”

“I’ve had the great honor to represent the ninth district for the last 19 and a half years. And it’s been a district that is majority African-American district,” he said. 

The redistricting vote by the GOP-dominated state legislature last week drew protests for splitting the Memphis population into parts of several different districts that lean more Republican.

This is a developing story and will be updated.