Tennessee

Judges dismiss suit alleging Tennessee's political maps discriminate against communities of color

Published

2 years ago

August 22, 2024

Judges dismiss suit alleging Tennessee's political maps discriminate against communities of color

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judicial panel has dismissed a lawsuit alleging that Tennessee’s U.S. House maps and those for the state Senate amount to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.

“In sum, the complaint alleges facts that are consistent with a racial gerrymander,” stated the ruling, which was issued Wednesday. “But the facts are also consistent with a political gerrymander.”

The complaint was the first court challenge over a 2022 congressional redistricting map that carved up Democratic-leaning Nashville to help Republicans flip a seat in last year’s elections, a move that critics claimed was done to dilute the power of Black voters and other communities of color in one of the state’s few Democratic strongholds.

The lawsuit also challenged state Senate District 31 in majority-Black Shelby County, including part of Memphis, using similar arguments and saying that the white voting age population went up under the new maps. A Republican now holds that seat.

However, the three federal judges who wrote the ruling argued there was another clear motivation behind Tennessee’s Republican state legislative supermajority by pointing to “naked partisanship” as the likely “straightforward explanation.”

In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that disputes over partisan gerrymandering of congressional and legislative districts are none of its business, limiting those claims to state courts under their own constitutions and laws. Most recently, the high court upheld South Carolina’s congressional map in a 6-3 decision that said the state General Assembly did not use race to draw districts based on the 2020 Census.

In Tennessee’s case, the plaintiffs included the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, the African American Clergy Collective of Tennessee, the Equity Alliance, the League of Women Voters of Tennessee and several Tennessee voters, including former Democratic state Sen. Brenda Gilmore.

After Nashville was splintered into three congressional districts, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper of Nashville declined to seek reelection, claiming he couldn’t win under the new layout. Ultimately, Rep. John Rose won reelection by about 33 percentage points, Rep. Mark Green won another term by 22 points, and Rep. Andy Ogles won his first term by 13 points in the district vacated by Cooper.

Tennessee now has eight Republicans in the U.S. House, with just one Democrat left in Memphis Rep. Steve Cohen.

In the original complaint, the plaintiffs argued that all three of the “candidates of choice” for minority voters lost their congressional bids in the Nashville area in 2022.

The judges countered that the lawsuit had to “more than plausibly allege that Tennessee’s legislators knew that their Republican-friendly map would harm voters who preferred Democratic candidates—including the higher percentage of minority voters who preferred those candidates.”

The judges did reject Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s argument that the plaintiffs had waited too long to file their challenge and also declared that the plaintiffs did not have to come up with their own map in their legal challenge. In their dismissal, the judges said the complaint could be refiled over the next 30 days as long as it was amended to “plausibly disentangle race from politics.”

Republicans celebrated the ruling, with House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s office issuing a statement saying they were “happy to have resolution on this matter so that we can focus on what’s ahead for Tennessee.”

Notably, the ruling briefly weighed in on ongoing controversies that have surrounded the Republican-dominant Statehouse, where Democrats have alleged racial discrimination in both the legislative policies enacted and actions that their GOP colleagues have taken recently.

Ranging from the brief expulsion of two young Black Democratic lawmakers to passing legislation aimed at slashing the left-leaning Nashville’s city council, the plaintiffs’ complaint provided several examples that they claimed as evidence of a “discriminatory motive.”

The court countered that the examples had “little to do with redistricting” but did note that they suggest the “possibility of misconduct.”

Meanwhile, Tennessee’s state legislative maps still face another lawsuit on state constitutional grounds.

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Tennessee

In final address, Gov. Bill Lee credits TN economic, innovation gains

Published

1 hour ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

In final address, Gov. Bill Lee credits TN economic, innovation gains

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee touted the state’s numerous economic achievements in his final annual Governor’s Address hosted by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, as he prepares to retire next year.

On stage at The Pinnacle March 10, Lee praised his administration’s work over the past seven years to lower poverty rates and expand industrial and economic diversity in the state.

But he pointed out that he has a lot to look forward to after leaving public office, namely his large family.

“It’s the best part of my life,” he said, chuckling. “People often ask me what I’m going to do next. And I say, ‘Well I have 11 grandchildren.’”

Lee emphasized Tennessee’s declining poverty rates, increasing educational scores and ability to attract a plethora of high-paying businesses as wins during his administration.

“We’ve watched our poverty rate fall below the national average for the first time in the state’s history,” he said. “People in Tennessee have greater access to opportunity than they ever have before.”

The number of economically distressed counties were “cut in half” in the last few years, thanks to increasing business opportunities, he said. “Distressed counties” is a designation of the nation’s poorest regions, according to the Appalachian Regional Commission.

“Our economy has attracted $55 billion in investment — just $11 billion this past year,” he said. “300,000 jobs created in our state in the last seven years.”

Lee called out companies like Starbucks, which announced on March 3 that the company’s southeastern U.S. corporate office is coming to Davidson County; In-n-Out, which is currently establishing a $125 million corporate hub in Franklin; software company Oracle, which is building a global headquarters on Nashville’s East Bank; Elon Musk’s xAi; Ford and more as drivers of prosperity in the state.

“They’ve figured out that the business environment is here, and the culture is what they want for their people, and the opportunity exists for them to be more successful in our state than they might be across the country,” he said.

He also praised the Music City Loop, the privately funded tunneling project helmed by Musk’s The Boring Company to connect Nashville International Airport to the Tennessee State Capitol Building. Despite recent Metro Nashville opposition, Lee called the project an “innovative new transportation model to “move people…without charging taxpayer dollars.”

“It’s very exciting to me what they might [represent] for the future of transportation in our city and beyond,” he said. “Despite the political arguments about that, the pragmatic business argument for that is incredibly exciting.”

Lee closed the speech thanking business leaders for their support during the past seven years of his administration.

“I could brag about this state for hours,” he said. “Because I’ve come to know her people, I’ve come to know her communities, her leaders, her uniqueness and her prominence, and I have been awed by what I’ve come to know in the past seven years. And I am honored. It’s been the highest honor of my life to be in the spot I am in.

“Our best days are ahead of us,” he said. “There will be a future governor that can (bring) better statistics, and better opportunity, and more hope for our people. And that makes me happy. There will be more, and there will be greater, and we together will share in what that looks like.”

Have a story to tell? Reach Angele Latham by email at alatham@gannett.com, or follow her on Twitter at @angele_latham

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Tennessee

Furman beats East Tennessee State for SoCon title, NCAA berth

Published

13 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Furman beats East Tennessee State for SoCon title, NCAA berth

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Cooper Bowser had 21 points and 11 rebounds as No. 6 seed Furman beat top-seeded East Tennessee State 76-61 on Monday night to secure the Southern Conference tournament title and an NCAA tournament bid.

Furman (22-12) won its eighth SoCon title in program history and first since defeating Chattanooga in 2023.

Tom House added 13 points off the bench for Furman and Alex Wilkins, who scored a career-high 34 to help rally from an 11-point halftime deficit in the semifinals, scored 12. Bowser was 9-of-12 from the field to help the Paladins shoot 51%.

Brian Taylor II scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half for ETSU (23-11), which was in the title game for the second time in three seasons. Blake Barkley added 14 points and Jaylen Smith had 10.

House made Furman’s sixth 3-pointer of the first half to extend the lead to 37-27 with four minutes left. The Paladins led 42-35 at the break.

Wilkins’ steal and fast-break dunk extended Furman’s lead to 72-61 with 2:11 left and Bowser added a hook shot in the lane on their next possession for a 13-point lead.

ETSU went 2-of-7 from the field over the final five minutes to halt a comeback attempt. The Buccaneers finished 3-of-16 from 3-point range and 10 of 18 at the free throw line.

The Buccaneers were trying for their first NCAA bid since 2020.

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Tennessee

Titans free agency: Tennessee signing offensive weapons to help QB Cam Ward, bolstering coach Robert Saleh’s defense, reports say

Published

1 day ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Titans free agency: Tennessee signing offensive weapons to help QB Cam Ward, bolstering coach Robert Saleh’s defense, reports say

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Let the spending spree begin. The NFL offseason is now in full swing as free agents are beginning to sign with new homes throughout the league ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft in April.

The Tennessee Titans are among the top franchises with the most cap space in the league.

Latest: Tennessee Titans reportedly trade young defensive tackle for Pro Bowl defensive end from New York Jets

Previous: Tennessee Titans release center Lloyd Cushenberry

Below is a look at the free agents and moves the Titans have reportedly made:

Cornerback Alontae Taylor – three-year $60 million deal
Cornerback Cor’Dale Flott – three-year $45 million deal
Defensive tackle John Franklin-Meyers – three-year $63 million deal
Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky – two-year deal
Tight end Daniel Bellinger – three-year $24 million deal
Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson – four-year $70 million deal
Long snapper Morgan Cox – re-signed one-year deal

Before the free-agency frenzy, the Titans released center Lloyd Cushenberry and also reportedly traded away defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat for Pro Bowl defensive end Jermaine Johnson.

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