NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a new congressional map into law Thursday that dismantles the state’s only Democratic-held U.S. House district, a Memphis-based seat long represented by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen.

The map breaks up the 9th Congressional District, Tennessee’s only majority-Black district, and places its voters into multiple Republican-leaning districts. The updated districts could allow Republicans to win all nine of the state’s congressional seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the plan during a special session after Lee called lawmakers back to Nashville to consider changes to the state’s congressional lines. The move comes amid a broader push by Republican-led states to revisit district maps before the midterms following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling affecting Voting Rights Act protections.

Democrats and civil rights advocates condemned the map, saying it reduces Black voting power in Memphis and was rushed through with little public input. The NAACP has filed a lawsuit after Lee signed the map, according to The Associated Press.

Republicans defended the map as lawful and politically representative of Tennessee, where the GOP already holds eight of the state’s nine U.S. House seats.

Cohen, who has represented the Memphis-area district since 2007, said he will fight the map in court. The state’s congressional primaries are scheduled for Aug. 6, 2026.