Tennessee House Republicans approve redistricting plan to divide Davidson County into three congressional districts

Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly pushed ahead Monday night on a once-a-decade redistricting plan, with a House vote all but guaranteeing the division of Davidson County into three separate congressional districts that will dilute the county’s minority vote. 

The congressional plan cracks Davidson County through downtown Nashville, parceling pieces of the current 5th Congressional District into the largely white, historically Republican 6th and 7th districts.

A new 5th would take in parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties, along with rural Lewis, Maury and Marshall counties. 

Political experts say the plan, approved on a 70-26 party-line vote, could flip the 5th to the Republicans, further entrenching the GOP in Tennessee with an 8-1 advantage in the congressional delegation. Still, some have warned the move could come back to haunt the supermajority in the decade to come as Middle Tennessee continues to drive the state's population growth.

Senate Republicans approved new boundaries for congressional and Senate districts last week, with the House map expected to come up for a vote there on Wednesday.

Senate districts:Tennessee senators approve new congressional, Senate districts; House to vote Monday

The changes to Middle Tennessee were the most dramatic in the state and the plan will soon head to Gov. Bill Lee, who is expected to sign the legislation.

Lee told the Rotary Club of Nashville on Monday he believes state lawmakers "made every effort to follow the law" when crafting the new congressional districts. He said he would make a decision when the legislation reaches his desk. 

Gov. Lee:Tennessee lawmakers 'made every effort to follow the law' when redrawing congressional districts

The GOP redistricting plans have sailed through the General Assembly, as legislators are eager to settle the issue soon so candidates can prepare for this year's elections. Democrats have criticized the process and have called for more time to consider the maps.

On Monday night, Democrats urged Republicans to reconsider the congressional map, which will significantly dilute the current 5th's significant minority voter population. Republicans argue the plan would benefit the area by increasing its congressional representation, but Democrats on Monday said it could "do a disservice" to both Nashville and rural communities by lumping them together in the same districts. 

“It’s conceivable we could have the largest economic driver of the state not represented by someone who actually lives in that county,” said Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, who unsuccessfully pushed an amendment to keep Davidson County in one district.

Dixie criticized the Republican plan on the House floor Monday night. 

“It disenfranchises the vote of African Americans and minorities in the state of Tennessee,” Dixie said.

The share of the population made up by Black residents in Tennessee’s potential new 5th Congressional District would plummet. In the proposed new 7th, Black residents would account for 16% of the district's population. In the new 6th, Black residents would account for less than 10%. In the 5th, the Black population would fall to 11.9%.

Black residents account for 24.3% of the population in the current 5th Congressional District, represented by U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville.

Redistricting:Davidson County redistricting split dilutes vote of Black communities, critics say. Here's why

Rep. Pat Marsh, R-Shelbyville, defended the plan. 

"This complies with the Voting Rights Act and is constitutionally sound, in our opinion,” Marsh said. 

Marsh said there was consideration to keep Davidson whole, but planners ultimately thought it was “best to have diversity with urban and rural districts being represented by a congressman who could relate to both of them.”

“We have urban and rural get the best of both worlds,” Marsh said. 

Senate Democrats last week hinted at a legal challenge to the congressional plan, which Democrats and local Nashville advocates have decried as partisan gerrymandering seeking to draw power away from booming Nashville. 

Shortly after Monday's vote, the Tennessee Democratic Party said it was "prepping a lawsuit."

"It's hard to imagine you don't see this in litigation at some point," Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, said last week. "I can't imagine people don't look at this and say there are legal deficiencies."

Cooper had repeatedly called for lawmakers to keep Davidson whole and earlier this month said "gerrymandering Nashville is an insult to all Nashvillians." Cooper has faced a well-funded primary campaign from Nashville activist Odessa Kelly, who will now be drawn into the 6th District under the new plan. 

Kelly, who observed the House vote Monday night, said decisions about the campaign's future were premature at this time, but she would support legal challenges to the plan. 

"This is what racism looks like in real life," Kelly said. "This is obviously racial gerrymandering."

The plan preserves Tennessee's one majority-minority congressional district centered largely in Shelby County.

Lawmakers initially attempted add rural Tipton County into the 9th Congressional District, currently represented by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis. But lawmakers later revised the map to split Tipton between the 9th and the 8th Congressional District, represented by U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R-Germantown. 

Reporter Adam Friedman contributed to this report. 

Reach Melissa Brown at mabrown@tennessean.com.

Want to read more stories like this? A subscription to one of our Tennessee publications gets you unlimited access to all the latest politics news, podcasts like Grand Divisions, plus newsletters, a personalized mobile experience and the ability to tap into stories, photos and videos from throughout the USA TODAY Network's daily sites.