Justin Pearson and Brent Taylor win primaries for key Tennessee House seat

Tennessee primary voters picked a pair of Memphis-area lawmakers to square off in a dramatically reconfigured US House seat central to Donald Trump’s plan to try to hold on to a slim Republican majority in the midterm congressional elections.

Republicans chose state senator Brent Taylor, who was endorsed by Trump, to be their nominee in the revamped 9th congressional district. Democrats picked state representative Justin Pearson, who gained national prominence three years ago when he was expelled from the Tennessee House for protesting in support of gun control measures.

The previously compact Memphis-based district had a majority Black population, but it was cracked apart by Republican officials this year following a US supreme court ruling that weakened federal Voting Rights Act protection for minorities. Republicans hope the redistricting, which is part of a broader national plan pushed by Trump, could give them a clean sweep of all nine of Tennessee’s seats.

The new ninth district stretches about 200 miles (320km) east from Memphis across rural areas before reaching north toward Nashville. It previously favored Democrats but now tilts Republican, with 71% of voters new to the district, according to an Associated Press estimate. Some Memphis voters have raised concerns that their representation has been diminished.

The redistricting also significantly reshaped the fifth congressional district held by Republican representative Andy Ogles, who was defeated by the former Tennessee agriculture commissioner Charlie Hatcher.

Hatcher prevailed even though Trump gave an early endorsement to Ogles. Ogles’s defeat is a rare loss for Trump, who has backed mostly winners so far in this year’s GOP primaries.

Although he lacked the president’s endorsement, Hatcher was endorsed by Republican governor Bill Lee, under whom he had served. Hatcher campaigned as pro-Trump while emphasizing his farming background.

“Think what President Trump could do if our congressman spent less time talking and more time doing,” his campaign website said.

Ogles, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, has faced controversy. The FBI seized his cellphone in 2024 as part of an investigation into his campaign finance reporting. The justice department recently agreed to return the device , signaling that it was abandoning the investigation, which began under the Biden administration.

For decades Memphis, the most populous city in Shelby county, formed the base of its own congressional district. Now the county is split among three districts that extend outward like spokes into rural areas.

Previously centered on Nashville and central Tennessee, the district now extends to the northwest corner of the state before snaking south along the Mississippi River to Memphis. Along the way it touches the borders of Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi.

In other Tennessee races on Thursday, senator Marsha Blackburn defeated Rose in the GOP primary to succeed Republican governor Bill Lee, who is barred by term limits from seeking reelection. Blackburn, who won her second six-year Senate term in 2024, would have to give the seat up if elected.

Memphis city council member Jerri Green won the Democratic gubernatorial primary.