Tennessee's 9th congressional district
Tennessee's 9th congressional district is a congressional district in West Tennessee. It has been represented by Democrat Steve Cohen since 2007. With a Cook PVI of D+22, it is the only Democratic district in Tennessee.
| Tennessee's 9th congressional district | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 | |||
| Representative |
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| Distribution |
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| Population (2021) | 767,682[2] | ||
| Median household income | $47,518[3] | ||
| Ethnicity |
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| Cook PVI | D+22[4] | ||
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The district was re-created as a result of the redistricting cycle after the 1980 Census. The district is almost exclusively urban, due to its mostly cohabitant nature with Memphis.
Memphis is recognized worldwide for being the hub for FedEx. Largely due to FedEx's presence, Memphis International Airport handles more cargo than any other airport in the country. Memphis is also known for blues music, Beale Street, and barbecue.
It is the only majority minority congressional district in Tennessee. Politically speaking, the 9th is the most Democratic-leaning district in Tennessee. Since 1875, the area has sent mostly Democrats to Congress with the exception of a brief period from 1967 to 1974 when it was represented by Republican Dan Kuykendall.
Current boundaries
Beginning in 2023, The district is located within Tipton County, and Shelby County, where the city of Memphis is located.
It begins north on the border with Lauderdale County and encompasses some of Covington. It then travels south to the district's anchor city of Memphis. Nearly all of Memphis is in the 9th, although some of its city limits spill over into the 8th. The district then juts out east to capture Cordova, but mostly avoids Bartlett and Germantown. The district is bounded on the west and south by Arkansas and Mississippi respectively.
Election results from statewide races
Results Under Old Lines (2013-2023)
| Year | Office | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | President | Al Gore 63% - George W. Bush 36% |
| 2004 | President | John Kerry 70% - George W. Bush 30% |
| 2008 | President | Barack Obama 77% - John McCain 22.5% |
| 2012 | President | Barack Obama 78.4% - Mitt Romney 21% |
| 2016 | President | Hillary Clinton 77.5% - Donald Trump 19.8% |
| 2020 | President | Joe Biden 78.5% - Donald Trump 19.9% |
History
Arguably, the district's current characteristics began to take shape in 1925- the first year a congressional district consisted exclusively of Shelby County.
A congressional district was perfectly coextensive with Shelby County from 1925 until 1966, when the Supreme Court case Baker v. Carr took effect. In that ruling, the court laid out a "one man, one vote" standard. Prior to 1966, the 9th was nearly ten times larger in population than the nearby 7th and 8th.
1967 was the first year where the district was merely a fraction of Shelby County rather than the county's entirety. In that election, the district chose former US Senate Republican nominee Dan Kuykendall. In 1974, in the midst of Watergate, Kuykendall supported Nixon throughout the scandal. He was subsequently defeated in the election by Democrat Harold Ford Sr., whose family had strong political ties in Memphis dating back to at least the 1920s.
The district has swung Democrat in every congressional race since 1974. Ford served in Congress for 22 years, when he was replaced by his son - Harold Ford Jr. - in 1997. The younger Ford served for ten years, until he mounted an unsuccessful bid for US Senate. Concurrent to Ford's senate bid, the district chose state senator Steve Cohen over Ford's brother Jake.[5] Cohen is noted for being Tennessee's first Jewish congressman. Cohen has been elected seven times for a little over fourteen years in Congress.
List of members representing the district
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Recent election results
2012
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Cohen (Incumbent) | 188,422 | 75.1% | |
| Republican | George S. Flinn, Jr. | 59,742 | 23.8% | |
| Independent | Brian L. Saulsberry | 1,448 | 0.6% | |
| Independent | Gregory M. Joiner | 1,372 | 0.5% | |
| Total votes | 250,987 | 100% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2014
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Cohen (Incumbent) | 87,376 | 75% | |
| Republican | Charlotte Bergmann | 27,173 | 23.3% | |
| Independent | Floyd Wayne Alberson | 766 | 0.7% | |
| Independent | Paul Cook | 752 | 0.6% | |
| Independent | Herbert Bass | 483 | 0.4% | |
| Total votes | 116,550 | 100% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2016
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Cohen (Incumbent) | 171,631 | 79% | |
| Republican | Wayne Alberson | 41,123 | 18.9% | |
| Independent | Paul Cook | 5,203 | 2.4% | |
| Total votes | 217,957 | 100% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2018
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Cohen (Incumbent) | 145,139 | 80% | |
| Republican | Charlotte Bergmann | 34,901 | 19.2% | |
| Independent | Leo AwGoWhat | 1,436 | 0.8% | |
| Total votes | 181,476 | 100% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2020
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Cohen (Incumbent) | 187,905 | 77.4% | |
| Republican | Charlotte Bergmann | 48,818 | 20.1% | |
| Independent | Dennis Clark | 3,962 | 1.6% | |
| Independent | Bobby Lyons | 2,192 | 0.9% | |
| Total votes | 242,880 | 100% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2022
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Cohen (incumbent) | 93,800 | 70.0% | |
| Republican | Charlotte Bergmann | 35,123 | 26.2% | |
| Independent | George Flinn | 3,349 | 2.5% | |
| Independent | Dennis Clark | 1,160 | 0.8% | |
| Independent | Paul Cook | 485 | 0.3% | |
| Write-in | Bobby Lyons | 1 | 0.0% | |
| Total votes | 133,918 | 100% | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Historical district boundaries
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References
- Geography, US Census Bureau. "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based)". www.census.gov.
- Bureau, Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
- "My Congressional District".
- "2022 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- "U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES / TENNESSEE 09". America Votes 2006. CNN.
- "2012 Election Results" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- "2014 Election Results" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- "2016 Election Results" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- "2018 Election Results" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- "2020 Election Results" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present