The Supreme Court’s blow to the Voting Rights Act had barely landed on Wednesday when Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, called on lawmakers to eliminate the last Democratic-held House seat in the state.
Taking to social media shortly after the Wednesday morning ruling, Ms. Blackburn, the favorite to become the state’s next governor, urged the legislature to hastily adopt a new congressional map that would put Memphis, a majority Black city, in Republican hands.
The chorus quickly grew. Her opponent in the gubernatorial primary, Representative John Rose, declared that the Democratic-led city “deserves Republican representation in Congress.” State Senator Brent Taylor, of nearby Shelby County, asked on X, “Got any ideas on who would make a great Republican congressman from West TN?”
By Thursday morning, President Trump said on Truth Social that Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, had assured him in a call that he would “work hard” to get Republicans “one extra seat” in Tennessee, “and help save our country.”
A spokeswoman for Mr. Lee did not respond to questions about the conversation, and it remains unclear whether a new map will be approved before the midterm elections. But for some Democrats, the eager chatter was the realization of fears that have percolated since 2022, when Republicans carved a Nashville-area seat long held by Democrats into three Republican districts.
