ABOUT:
Defense policy analysis, commentary and discussion.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) signed a new Congressional redistricting map into law today, protecting incumbents and shoring up the Republican majority in the Volunteer State.
The new map almost ensures that Reps. Jim Cooper of Nashville and Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis will remain the only Democrats in the state’s federal delegation in the 113th Congress. Currently there are seven Republican and two Democratic Members of the House from Tennessee.
“If growth patterns persist, a 7-2 is likely for the decade,” said one Republican operative familiar with Tennessee politics.
The big winner of the new map is freshman Rep. Stephen Fincher (R), who saw his 8th district shored up substantially. It went from a somewhat competitive district to one that would have voted more than 64 percent for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the 2008 presidential election — a safe Republican seat.
Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R) becomes more vulnerable to a serious primary challenge under the new map, which gives him lots of new territory. But the district, the 4th, remains solidly Republican.
Want Roll Call on your doorstep?
SIGN UPAlready a subscriber?
Sign up to have the print PDF emailed to you.
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
