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State Sen. Brent Taylor Announces Bid for Newly-Drawn U.S. House Seat
Taylor launched his bid with endorsements from Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty as Republicans seek another GOP seat in Congress.
State Senator Brent Taylor announced his candidacy for Tennessee's Ninth Congressional District on Thursday, hours after the Tennessee General Assembly passed a Republican-led redistricting bill that Gov. Bill Lee signed into law.
GOP lawmakers redrew the map to split Memphis into three Republican-leaning districts, eliminating Tennessee's lone Democratic-held congressional seat held by Rep. Steve Cohen for nearly two decades.
Senator Marsha Blackburn and Senator Bill Hagerty immediately endorsed Taylor, with Blackburn calling him "exactly who President Trump needs in Washington" while Hagerty praised his focus on Memphis public safety.
Rep. Steve Cohen condemned the redistricting on social media, alleging "Trump knows he has to rig the game to keep his majority in November." The Republican primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6.
The redrawn Ninth Congressional District shifts from a Memphis-centered seat to one spanning southern Shelby County through multiple counties and extending into Middle Tennessee suburbs including Brentwood, fundamentally altering the district's geography and composition.