Rep. Steve Cohen Drops Reelection Bid After Tennessee Redistricting

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

Cohen made the decision because of the Tennessee legislature's redistricting, which changed his district in the Memphis area. The 76-year-old is Tennessee's only Democrat in Congress. He said he will retire from public life.

"This is by far the most difficult moment I've had as an elected official," Cohen said as he began his remarks.

He said he considered running in one of the new districts but added that they are "nothing like the ninth district that I've represented." Cohen is a fourth-generation resident of the Memphis area.

"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 a majority African-American district," he said.

The GOP-dominated state legislature approved the redistricting last week, prompting protests over its division of Memphis's population into several districts that lean more Republican.

During his time in Congress, Cohen served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He focused on issues such as civil rights and policing reform.