"Redistricting" May Mean Nothing To You ...

 ... but it is an important topic to consider as we look ahead to the big election year of 2022. In that year, Tennessee will choose a Governor, U.S. House members, state representatives, state senators, and judges. The voting in August and November, respectively, will impact the next eight years for judges and the next two to four years for all others on the ballot.

So when you consider how the Fifth Congressional District of Tennessee might look when the election comes around, you might consider that our state is currently dominated by Republican leaders. With the exception of U.S. Representatives Steve Cohen of Memphis and Jim Cooper here in Nashville, all of the members of the U.S. House are Republican. Our U.S. Senators are both Republican: Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty. Senator Hagerty just took office this past January. Neither Blackburn nor Hagerty will be up for reelection in 2022.   

Twenty-seven of thirty-three state senators are Republican, including the Speaker of the Senate and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally. Seventy-three of ninety-nine state representatives are members of the GOP, including Speaker Cameron Sexton.

In short, Nashville and Memphis are Democratic strongholds. The rest of the state is "Red".

One of the important tasks for our state legislature, also known as the General Assembly, is drawing districts for Congress, the state House, and the state Senate. The current district map for the U.S. House has Davidson and Dickson counties and most of Cheatham county in the Fifth Congressional District. 

Since we just completed a census, new district maps must be drawn at all levels to accurately reflect population.

Speculation is that Republicans would like to split Davidson County off into other districts to create the possibility that Republicans would control all but one of the Congressional seats in our state.

But (long story short) don't bet on it. Politics is the prime motivation. The Republicans like Mark Green, Scott DesJarlais, and John Rose who represent the districts just outside of Nashville really don't want Democratic voters from Davidson County placed into their districts. No matter how small the amount of territory that goes into any other respective district, a danger of a competitive race is created since Nashville is Democratic.

The term "gerrymander" came into play way back in history somewhere when one party was accused of blatantly manipulating district boundaries for its own benefit. I don't remember the entire story from history class, but I know that gerrymandering Nashville's Congressional district would do no one any good.

The bottom line is that Nashville is a different place from its suburbs and surrounding counties. Each place needs its own representation and for its own benefit. For instance, representation is key for Davidson County when federal aid is needed after natural disasters such as the tornadoes that struck our city in March of 2020. The city is the city and the country is the country. 

And keeping one member of Congress representing all of Metro Nashville (and some folks just outside of town) is the best way to go.

James A. Rose

Publisher