House redistricting to eliminate five Democratic incumbents in urban Tennessee

Yue Stella Yu
Nashville Tennessean
Tennessee House Redistricting Committee on Friday unveiled its draft map that reshapes the boundaries of state House seats.

Tennessee House Redistricting Committee on Friday unveiled — and voted to advance — its own draft state House map that would eliminate five Democratic incumbents who face re-election in 2022.

The plan, if approved by the legislature, would further solidify the Republican supermajority in the General Assembly and diminish Democratic influence. 

The map, presented for the first time in public and immediately passed by the committee Friday, would lump nine Democratic incumbents in urban areas such as Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis in four districts.

Six Republicans are paired together under the new district lines, although two of the lawmakers already announced they will not seek re-election in 2022.

The redistricting proposal drew criticism from House Democrats, who argued Republicans reshaped the lines for political gain.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, said the redistricting process reflects Republicans' efforts to "rig" the elections.

"This is probably the most partisan and racially motivated process that I've been involved in since I have been in the legislature," Dixie said. "They have essentially rigged their 2022 elections in their favor."

House Redistricting Committee Chairman Curtis Johnson defended the process as "unprecendented" in transparency and bipartisanship.

Johnson told reporters Friday the committee did not take partisanship into account when drawing the lines.

"As we are going through the process, Republican, Democrat, we don't look at that," Johnson said.

Curtis Johnson makes his speech for Speaker as the House Republican Caucus holds a meeting to pick their nominee in the Old Supreme Court Chambers on the first floor of the Capitol Wednesday, July 24, 2019.

The recommended redistricting plan must go through the regular committee process and come to a floor vote when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.

Johnson said the committee hopes to meet again the week of Jan. 10 to vote on the congressional design. 

Lawmakers have yet to release its own congressional plan, although they expect to approve of the new congressional district lines before Feb. 7, when candidates begin picking up petitions to run for office. 

The committee also heard presentations on publicly-submitted proposals Friday, although most maps did not meet the House redistricting guidelines.

A dozen maps were submitted to the House by public members, including seven for congressional districts, four for state House and one for the state Senate. Only one draft —  a congressional map — satisfied the population distribution and contiguity criteria, according to an outside plan evaluation published by the committee.

House committee plan target urban Democrats

House Redistricting Committee Counsel Doug Himes deemed the committee plan to have met all the criteria. It splits 30 counties — the maximum allowed under state law. It preserves 13 majority-minority districts statewide, meaning the majority of voting-age residents living in those districts are racial minorities.

As The Tennessean previously reported, five House Democrats risk losing their seats as the committee redistricting plan packs several incumbents into one district.

In Nashville, Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, and Rep. Jason Potts, D-Nashville, are drawn into House District 52, represented by Rep. Mike Stewart, D-Nashville. Clemmons represents House District 55, which covers west Davidson County. Potts is not up for re-election in 2022, leaving Clemmons and Stewart potential competitors.

Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, who currently represents House District 13, is drawn into House District 15 represented by Rep. Sam MacKenzie, D-Knoxville. 

In Memphis, Democratic Rep. Torrey Harris' House District 90 is completely absorbed by his surrounding districts, the plan shows. The block he lives on is barely incorporated into House District 91 represented by Rep. London Lamar, D-Memphis, he said.

State Representative Torrey Harris talks with Jason Martin during the Happy Hour w/ Michelle Fiscus on Saturday, July 31, 2021 in Memphis,Tn.

Harris said he would not run against Lamar but will run again in 2022. Dixie suggested the map could still change and said he has not decided what to do next.

Shelby County lost a House seat to Middle Tennessee due to the uneven population growth in the past decade, Himes said. While Harris' district is eliminated, Rutherford County gained a district with no incumbent, Himes said. 

Davidson County has grown, and district boundaries should shrink to cover less geographical areas. When asked why boundaries were moved just enough to eliminate multiple Democratic incumbents in Nashville, Himes did not directly answer the question. Instead he referenced the need to shift districts around. 

For example, the growth in South Nashville created a new House District 55 without an incumbent, he said.

"That reflects where the growth is," he said. "When that seat gets created and causes other seats to move ... it dominos from one to another." 

Fewer Republican incumbents impacted

Former House Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin, is paired with Rep. Sam Whitson, R-Franklin, in House District 65 that now covers west Williamson County. Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-Paris, is paired with Rep. Jay Reedy, R-Erin, in House District 74.

Both Casada and Griffey announced they would not seek re-election in 2022, meaning Whitson and Reedy would not face competition.

In House District 10, Reps. Jerry Sexton, R-Bean Station, and Rick Eldridge, R-Morristown, are drawn together. Neither could be reached immediately for comment on their election plans.

Republicans have 73 of the 99 seats in the state House. Democrats have 26.

When asked why the committee did not pair more Republican incumbents instead of Democrats together, Himes said he is a "nonpartisan employee working in a partisan process."

Rep. Curtis Johnson said he believes the plan is nonpartisan.

Alternative plans backed by Democrats fall by the wayside

Senate and House Democrats have proposed plans for congressional, state Senate and House seats. But suggestions from the minority party were not adopted during the Republican-controlled redistricting process.

Democrats on Thursday released their state House plan, which would yield 23 solid Democratic seats and 68 solid Republican ones, according to the electronic version of the map presented on Dave's Redistricting — a publicly available mapping tool for redistricting. Eight seats would be competitive, seven of which lean slightly Democratic.

"It's a constitutionally sound plan that results in the fewest county splits since the 1960s, low population deviations, and it preserves the ability of minority voters to elect their preferred candidates," said Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Nashville, who presented the plan Friday.

State Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Nashville, during a special session at State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. For only the third time in state history, the Tennessee General Assembly called itself into a special session, this time to deal with COVID-19 restrictions.

The Democratic proposal would carve out a liberal-leaning seat in Murfreesboro. All three incumbent Representatives from Murfreesboro — Reps. Tim Rudd, Bryan Terry and Charlie Baum — are Republicans. 

The plan would also create liberal islands elsewhere in the state, including near Chattanooga and Clarksville.

For example, the Democrats-proposed House District 75, which includes an area currently represented by Reedy, would only cover the northwestern corner of Montgomery County, which leans slightly Democratic.

The plan would draw Reedy out of his district and pair him with Griffey, whose new House District 74 would be expanded to cover Henry, Benton, Stewart and Houston counties.

Overall, the plan would split 23 counties — fewer than the current House district map that splits 28, according to a press release by the Democrats. The map would keep cities such as Brentwood, Hendersonville and Gallatin whole, the release says.

Reach Yue Stella Yu at yyu@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @bystellayu_tnsn.

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