The General Assembly officially transmitted the passed redistricting plans to Governor Lee for his signature.
Lt. Governor and the Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally signed the new Senate legislative district and congressional district bills on Wednesday. Also, McNally signed the state house district bill on Thursday. State House Speaker Cameron Sexton signed all three bills on Thursday. They were then transmitted to Governor Lee for action on the same day.
After the remaining redistricting plans passed on Wednesday, Director of Communications for Sexton, Doug Kufner, told The Tennessee Star, “For several months, the Select Committee on Redistricting gathered input from citizens, community organizations, and legislators to formulate fair and constitutional House, Senate, and Congressional redistricting plans. These plans balance out population loss in both west and east Tennessee while meeting all state and federal constitutional and statutory requirements.”
Kufner added, “The plans — which have now passed in both the House and Senate — represent the distinctive voices of all Tennesseans.”
On Thursday, the Tennessee Democrat Party Chair, Hendrell Remus, continued the Party’s lawsuit threats and fundraising requests in a tweet: “We’ve been clear about our intent. When @GovBillLee puts his signature on the Republican drawn maps, we’re suing. But this isn’t going to be an easy or cheap fight. We need your support!” A link was posted to an ActBlue donation page.
We’ve been clear about our intent. When @GovBillLee puts his signature on the Republican drawn maps, we’re suing. But this isn’t going to be an easy or cheap fight. We need your support!https://t.co/W2PaXEPJAg
— Hendrell Remus (@hendrellremus) January 27, 2022
Earlier in the same week, the Tennessee Democrat Party official Twitter account tweeted: “100% — we are taking @TNGOP to court.”
100% — we are taking @TNGOP to court 🗣 https://t.co/XiUIVtYn7V
— Tennessee Democratic Party (@tndp) January 26, 2022
The General Assembly’s congressional redistricting plan has received the most attention because it splits Nashville into three congressional districts. Incumbent Democrat U.S. Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN-5) cited the new maps as a reason to abandon his plans for re-election.
The new congressional maps are widely believed to favor Tennessee Republicans politically, possibly changing the makeup of the Tennessee delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives from a seven to two Republican majority, to an eight to one.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Randy McNally” by Adam Kleinheider CC BY-SA 4.0 and photo “Tennessee Capitol” by Tennessee General Assembly.
