Florida Republicans Pass Mid-Decade Redistricting as Tennessee Watches the Tape

Florida lawmakers approved new congressional district maps on Wednesday April 29, making the state the third Republican-controlled legislature to push through mid-decade redistricting since the Supreme Court narrowed Voting Rights Act Section 2 challenges in Louisiana v. Callais last year. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill Thursday morning, and the new boundaries take effect for the 2026 midterm cycle. The vote was 84 to 36 in the House and 27 to 13 in the Senate, with one Republican joining all Democrats in opposition.

The Florida vote followed Texas earlier this year and a special session in Louisiana that began April 21 and remains in suspended status until May 16. Alabama is expected to take up similar legislation as early as next week. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced a state special session for Tuesday May 5 that will consider redistricting language specifically targeting the boundaries of Tennessee's Ninth Congressional District in Memphis. That seat is currently held by Democrat Steve Cohen and is the only majority Black district in the state.

Under the new Florida map, two districts in the Tampa Bay area shift to lean more solidly Republican while a Democratic seat in central Orlando is broken into pieces and absorbed by surrounding districts. The total number of competitive seats falls from six to four, according to a redistricting analysis by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project. Florida Republicans currently hold 20 of 28 House seats and could pick up two more under the new lines if turnout patterns from 2024 hold across the cycle.

Civil rights groups including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law announced lawsuits within hours of the bill's passage. The cases will move through the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and could reach the Supreme Court as soon as the fall 2026 term. Enforcement of the new maps will likely proceed for the 2026 election while litigation continues, which is the same pattern that played out with Texas earlier this year.

For Tennessee, the May 5 special session has a clearer target. Memphis is home to the largest concentration of Black voters in the state and TN-09 has been a Democratic seat since the district was drawn after the 1990 census. Splitting Memphis between three or four surrounding districts with rural and suburban Republican majorities would reliably produce all-Republican delegations from the state's metropolitan areas. Lee has not released proposed maps publicly but allies in the legislature have circulated drafts that move parts of Memphis into TN-08 and TN-07.

The Tennessee NAACP and the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators announced a strategy meeting at the Lorraine Motel National Civil Rights Museum for Monday May 4. Faith leaders including pastors from across Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville are expected to attend. Several have called for public testimony at the State Capitol on the first day of the session if the maps are made public Sunday or Monday.

The May 5 special session will run for at least three legislative days. Public testimony is expected on Tuesday May 5 and Wednesday May 6 in Nashville at the Cordell Hull State Office Building. Anyone wanting to submit written comments can do so through the General Assembly website until 5 PM Central on Monday May 4. The new maps would not take effect until the 2026 primary, which is August 6, but candidate filing for the new districts opens June 1, which gives challengers a narrow window to organize ground operations and fundraising.

What to watch next: Alabama is expected to begin similar proceedings the week of May 11 with Governor Kay Ivey signaling support. Georgia legislative leadership has said no plans are imminent but has not ruled out a fall session. The Department of Justice has not signaled any intent to challenge these maps under Section 2, which the Supreme Court limited in Louisiana v. Callais. Federal courts remain the primary check, and lower courts have generally allowed mid-decade redistricting to proceed where state law permits.

For Black communities in particular, the practical impact is concentrated representation and reduced influence at the federal level. A Memphis voter in a redrawn TN-09 might end up in a district that runs from Memphis to Jackson and includes large parts of West Tennessee that vote Republican by 30 points or more. The Cohen seat would likely flip in the next cycle. The state's congressional delegation could move from eight Republicans and one Democrat to nine Republicans and zero Democrats out of nine total seats.

Voter registration deadlines for the 2026 primaries remain July 7 for the August primary and October 5 for the November general election. Tennessee residents who have moved or had address changes since the 2024 election should verify their registration through GoVoteTN.com before the deadline.