| Tennessee's 9th congressional district | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 | |
| Representative | |
| Distribution |
|
| Population (2024) | 749,932[2] |
| Median household income | $55,603[3] |
| Ethnicity |
|
| Cook PVI | D+23[4] |
Tennessee's 9th congressional district is acongressional district inWest Tennessee, covering most ofMemphis and its inner suburbs. It has been represented by DemocratSteve Cohen since 2007.
The district was re-created as a result of theredistricting cycle after the1980 census. The district is almost exclusively urban, due to its mostly cohabitant nature with Memphis.
Memphis is recognized worldwide for being the hub forFedEx. 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 onlymajority minority congressional district in Tennessee. With aCook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+23, it is the only Democratic district in Tennessee.[4] Since 1875, the area has sent mostly Democrats to Congress with the exception of a brief period from 1967 to 1975 when it was represented by RepublicanDan Kuykendall.
For the118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:[5]
ShelbyCounty(4)
TiptonCounty(8)
| Year | Office | Results[6] |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | President | Obama 73% - 26% |
| 2012 | President | Obama 74% - 26% |
| 2016 | President | Clinton 72% - 25% |
| 2018 | Senate | Bredesen 75% - 23% |
| Governor | Dean 70% - 26% | |
| 2020 | President | Biden 73% - 25% |
| Senate | Bradshaw 71% - 26% | |
| 2022 | Governor | Martin 65% - 33% |
| 2024 | President | Harris 70% - 28% |
| Senate | Johnson 69% - 28% |
Arguably, the district's current characteristics began to take shape in 1925 — the first year a congressional district consisted exclusively ofShelby County.
A congressional district was perfectly coextensive with Shelby County from 1925 until 1966, numbered as the 10th from 1925 to 1933 and from 1943 to 1953, then the 9th from 1933 to 1943 and the 9th from 1953 to 1966.
In 1966, the Supreme Court caseBaker 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 covered merely a fraction of Shelby County rather than the county's entirety. In that election, the district chose former US Senate Republican nomineeDan Kuykendall. The district was renumbered the 8th in 1973 and was pushed further into Memphis. In 1974, in the midst ofWatergate, Kuykendall supported Nixon throughout the scandal, and was subsequently defeated by DemocratHarold Ford Sr., whosefamily had strong political ties in Memphis dating back to at least the 1920s.
The district has voted Democratic in every congressional race since 1974. After the 1980 census saw it become the 9th once again and was drawn as a black-majority district. This allowed the Democrats to consolidate their hold on the seat. With most of Memphis' wealthier and now heavily Republican eastern portion now in the 7th, the GOP largely lost interest in the 9th; only nominal Republican candidates have run there from 1982 onward.
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 anunsuccessful bid for US Senate. Concurrent to Ford's senate bid, the district chose state senatorSteve Cohen over Ford's brother Jake, with the Republicans pushed into third place.[7] Cohen is noted for being Tennessee's first Jewish congressman, and was the first white Democrat to represent a significant portion of Memphis in 40 years. He has been elected seven times, and since 2022 has been the only Democrat in the state's delegation.
| 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% | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| 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% | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| 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% | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| 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% | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| 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% | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| 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% | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Cohen (incumbent) | 159,522 | 71.3% | |
| Republican | Charlotte Bergman | 57,411 | 25.7% | |
| Independent | William Wells | 3,708 | 1.7% | |
| Independent | Dennis Clark | 3,062 | 1.4% | |
| Total votes | 223,703 | 100.00% | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
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35°10′00″N89°58′39″W / 35.16667°N 89.97750°W /35.16667; -89.97750
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