Overview
- Official tallies show Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor defeated Democrat Justin Pearson in the new 9th Congressional District by about 2,500 votes with nearly all ballots counted on Tuesday.
- Republicans won several other newly drawn districts statewide while Democrats pulled an upset in the 4th District when Victoria Broderick defeated eight-term Republican Scott DesJarlais.
- The legislature redrew Tennessee’s lone Black majority-minority seat into three Republican-leaning districts after a Supreme Court decision weakened parts of the Voting Rights Act, a move that reshaped the Memphis-area map.
- Taylor’s campaign was under scrutiny for allegations he sent unsolicited nude photos even as he had Donald Trump’s endorsement, and Pearson ran a populist campaign focused on opposing data-center buildout and expanding turnout.
- Because Tennessee does not trigger automatic recounts for close results, candidates may contest these tight races and the outcomes will determine how Memphis and surrounding counties are represented and governed.