The Hamilton County delegation was a mixed bag on votes during a special session where GOP lawmakers passed a new congressional district map that split a majority-Black and only Democrat-held district in three, following a Supreme Court ruling that carves out Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and lifts requirements to consider race when drawing districts.
The rapid overhaul of the congressional map happened in three days in a special session of the General Assembly called by Gov. Bill Lee. Protesters lined the Capitol halls, arguing the new map would suppress the Black vote.
Before lawmakers voted on a bill to pass the new map, there was a vote to amend a Tennessee law that prohibits redistricting outside of the federal census cycle, which is every 10 years.
“I think, from a Republican Party perspective, I was obviously very happy with the way that they were able to accomplish it, and we look forward to working to see if it’s possible for us to win more congressional seats in Tennessee. That’s what our job is in November,” Scott Golden, chair of the Tennessee Republican Party, said by phone about the new map. “I give everybody a lot of credit. Obviously, it was a Supreme Court ruling that nobody anticipated coming, and the requirement that changes needed to be made, a special session where, despite a lot of antics from the opposition, I think they conducted it very well, came up with maps that have so far proven to be very legal.”