The ink on the Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, declaring race-based political districts to be unconstitutional, wasn’t even dry before Senator Marsha Blackburn immediately called for a special session to redraw the lines of the ninth congressional district in Memphis. She also immediately circulated a map with proposed new lines that threw many Republicans across the state into a frenzy.
Dividing up Maury County? Separating the upper Cumberland into different pieces? Suggesting that new Congressman Matt Van Epps shift to a new district stretching from Clarksville to Memphis? Even those in Chattanooga-area Congressman Fleischmann’s district voiced immediate opposition!
The likelihood that the proposed map might put the ninth district into Republican hands at the expense of making Republican districts across the state more vulnerable to democrat victories also raised immediate eyebrows. The Trump administration is clearly putting pressure on the state to move the ninth into the red column; but at what cost?
Most Capitol Hill GOP legislative leaders declared the proposed map “dead on arrival.” But what will eventually emerge when the special session starts on Tuesday in Nashville?
Perhaps equally important is: who drew up “the map”!?!? And was there a hidden agenda? 8th District Congressman Kustoff would pay a price, as would Congressmen Van Epps and Desjarlais. Who would benefit?
Blackburn’s consultant, Ward Baker, has his fingerprints all over her map, and he has reportedly told some that he simply used AI to draw it up without any deep analysis. Really!?!? One Democrat leader suggested that Marsha clearly didn’t draft it herself since it wasn’t in crayon. Ouch!
Adam Friedman at Tennessee Lookout put together a map that lays out a potential path Republicans could follow that turns Memphis into a likely GOP gain, but would put six of Tennessee’s nine seats within a 12-point GOP margin or less. Currently, three of the Tennessee seats held by Republicans have 20+ margins.
The bottom line? Republicans can find a way to improve their chances of sweeping Tennessee with a 9–0 congressional majority, but might put several seats into a slightly more competitive category. There are almost certainly many other prospective maps being generated at the moment, and one of them will emerge as the winner. Expect clarity sometime Tuesday when backroom horse trading produces a map that likely retains winnable GOP margins in all nine districts.
Expect a quick “in and out” special session, leaving few, if any, completely happy. Even with a special session, there will still have to be moving the redistricting map through various committees. Meaning the session will almost certainly run sometime into late Wednesday afternoon before they vote and get back out of town. The first challenge is ensuring a quorum since a lot of legislators quickly departed Nashville and are reluctant to return. Nevertheless, by Thursday, expect Tennessee to have a 9-0 GOP-friendly map approved and headed to the Governor’s desk.
SOUR GRAPES PRODUCE REALLY BAD WHINE. Last week the Davidson County Republican Party devolved into even more than usual turmoil with the sudden resignation of Chair Jason Weakley, accompanied with a questionable attempt to slide Vice Chair Annalisa Young into his spot as she simultaneously seeks a spot on the GOP State Executive Committee in the August primary race. She wants to replace current SEC member Lulu Elam.
Adding to the chaos is the fact that several of the previous existing leaders in the Davidson County Republican Party who supported Annalisa Young for Chairman have also resigned along with previous Chairman Weakly, including recording secretary Heather Leek. Further, Ryan Paradis was the Membership Committee Chairman who gained that title after another DCRP Board Member Jacob Durst quit. Durst quit when his efforts to throw a MAGA Conservative Spencer Anastasio off the DCRP Board failed in a drama filled February meeting.
Now Ryan Paradis is refusing to handing over the social media logins the new DCRP Board leadership needs.
Under Chairman Weakly a messaging app was started for the Board Members and and other appointed leaders to communicate with each other. It was called Discord. Paradis is not cooperating with the new Chairman Johnny Ellis in allowing a smooth transition. He says he will not turn over the controls to the Discord App. Weakly and Paradis are refusing to talk to the new Chairman, further blocking the transition. Vice Chairperson Annalisa Young is not helping either. She was the opposing candidate for Chairman who Weakly and Paradis both supported. She’s just kind of throwing up her hands and saying there’s nothing she can do. Paradis is also vocally calling out the State Party for having bonafide rules while refusing to turn over passwords and other web and social media access of the party to the new chairman Johnny Ellis.
Ellis is an attorney and former democrat who was elected to the chairmanship over Annalisa Young last Tuesday night.
Should these Republican bad actors be immediately stripped of their “bona fides” and banned from future leadership positions or opportunities to run for office? If donating a small amount to a democrat can cost you your “bona fide” status, should holding a county party hostage because your power grab failed be deemed the equivalent?
Steve Gill is editor and publisher of TriStar Daily.
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