The former Georgia gubernatorial candidate traveled to Tennessee this week to condemn a Republican-backed congressional map that would reshape the state’s districts and divide heavily Democratic Memphis into multiple congressional seats. Abrams framed the proposal as an effort to weaken Black voting strength.
But Tennessee Republicans say they are doing exactly what the Supreme Court told states to do: stop drawing congressional districts around race.
The clash exploded after the U.S. Supreme Court’s April 29 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, where the Court struck down Louisiana’s second majority-Black congressional district in a 6-3 decision authored by Samuel Alito.
The ruling declared that race-based map drawing violated constitutional protections and reinforced limits on using racial demographics as the dominant factor in congressional redistricting.
That decision immediately sent shockwaves through state legislatures nationwide, particularly in Republican-controlled states already facing pressure to redraw maps ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Just days later, Bill Lee called a special legislative session in Tennessee to address congressional district boundaries. Republican lawmakers unveiled a proposal that would divide Memphis, currently represented by a majority-Black district, across three separate congressional districts.
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