ByANDREW LAPIN/JTA

MAY 16, 2026 03:02

Congressman Steve Cohen, the Jewish Democrat from Tennessee caught in a heated Republican redistricting effort, stated on Friday that he will not pursue another term in office.

During his announcement press conference, the lawmaker also criticized a Republican opponent who described him as an old white Jewish guy.

Cohen, facing a Memphis district carved into three new areas, ranks among several Jewish Democratic losses tied to the GOP's mid-decade map adjustments aimed at boosting their House edge in upcoming midterms.

I do not wish to step down as I am no quitter, yet these districts were crafted specifically to defeat me, Cohen remarked to reporters at his Washington office.

Jewish Democrats face tough challenges from redistricting

Besides Cohen, three Jewish Democratic representatives in Florida now confront tougher reelection paths after their state's Republican redistricting. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Lois Frankel, and Jared Moskowitz saw their districts shifted to favor GOP challengers following the map revisions.

However, the Tennessee legislature's sudden overhaul of Cohen's district, a majority African-American area and the state's only Democratic House seat, sparked the greatest debate. Tennessee's 9th holds one of the nation's highest shares of Black voters.

The way each new district splits the Black voting bloc of the 9th almost evenly points to clear racist and improper motives and raises questions over race as the main driver in this redistricting, Cohen noted in a recent statement.

Cohen has held the seat since 2006 and noted he gained backing from many Black voters in Memphis despite initial doubts about a white candidate succeeding in a majority-Black area.

They doubted a Caucasian could ever prevail, he observed. Yet they underestimated the affection African-American voters hold for a candidate who served them effectively.

The congressman kept open the option of running if a lawsuit by the Tennessee Democratic Party and allies succeeds in blocking the map changes. Still, he seemed prepared for possible defeat, calling it the hardest point in his career during Friday's office remarks.

If the opportunity arises I will pursue it, he added. Otherwise I will retire from Congress and likely public service altogether.

Cohen also jabbed at Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles, who called him an old white Jewish guy while supporting the redistricting on Newsmax.

Ogles, a staunch conservative serving Tennessee's 5th District since 2023, deals with a primary opponent and probes into alleged 2022 campaign finance issues.

Well I suppose I am old, Jewish and white, but why mention white Jewish guy instead of noting a Black Jewish figure like Sammy Davis, Cohen reflected. Regarding white Jewish guy, does that imply a distinction between Jewish and white people? I am unsure what he means, and neither is he.

The other Memphis representative, Republican David Kustoff, is also Jewish and they share the same synagogue at the Reform Temple Israel. A 2010 redistricting shifted most of Memphis' roughly 10,000 Jewish residents, including the largest Orthodox congregation in the US, into Kustoff's Tennessee 8th District.