NASHVILLE – Tennessee House Republicans gave final approval Monday night to a congressional redistricting map dividing the Democratic stronghold of Nashville among three districts while also approving their plan to redraw state House districts as well as the state Senate’s.
The action sends both the congressional and state Senate plans, previously passed by the state Senate, to Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican who is expected to sign it into law.
The redistricting plan for House seats now goes to the GOP-controlled Senate, where it is expected to win approval Wednesday.
In a surprise, the 73-member House GOP majority partially relented on its original plan for its own 99-member chamber. The Republican leaders’ map had originally looped nine sitting Democrats from Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville into four districts.
The Republican amendment resulted in the unpairing of four Democrats in two Nashville state House districts who originally had been squeezed together into one district.