Senator dances on desk as Tenn. passes map ousting lone Democratic district

NASHVILLE — Votes to redraw Tennessee's congressional map were accompanied by hidden sirens, jeering protesters and a state senator dancing on top of her desk. The Tennessee General Assembly passed a new map Thursday that will split the Memphis vote between three districts, placing the state's only Democratic seat under Republican control. Gov. Bill Lee signed the legislation only hours after it had passed. Democrats are arguing the move is an attempt to diminish the Black vote, while Republicans are maintaining the redistricting is strictly an effort to secure another red district in the U.S. House ahead of the 2026 midterms. Northeast Tennessee legislators in the House and Senate sided unanimously in favor of the map. Two Republicans representing competitive state House districts in Memphis broke ranks to join Democrats in opposing the map, with a handful of other Republicans passing on the vote. The map passed votes handily in both chambers — but not without significant backlash from protestors and Democratic lawmakers alike. In the Senate, dozens of synchronized sirens hidden underneath seats went off, creating a deafening noise. Members of the gallery began shouting at the senators below as Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers moved to whisk everyone out of the chamber. State Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville, stood on top of her desk as the chamber prepared to call a vote. She remained there, clapping and dancing while Speaker of the Senate Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, attempted to restore order to the chamber. His gavel could not be heard through the sounds of sirens, chants and jeers. Lamar hoisted a white sheet above her head, painted with the words "NO JIM CROWE 2.0." The Senate clerk and someone appearing to be a member of the security detail pulled the sheet out of her hands. State Sen. Bill Powers, R-Clarksville, eventually called the vote once the noise died down enough for his voice to be heard over the sirens. The vote was taken while the shouting continued and Lamar remained dancing on top of her desk. The map passed the Senate along party lines. Similar protests occurred in the House chamber just before the map was called to a vote. Synchronized sirens went off, protestors began to shout and the galleries were cleared. At the same moment, House Democrats walked to the front of the chamber and linked arms in front of the podium where the map's House sponsor stood to introduce his bill. State Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, blew an airhorn and shouted at the House Speaker as the map was called to a chaotic vote. The map passed, and Republican lawmakers were quickly escorted out of the House chamber by THP troopers. Republican sponsors of the maps offered little in defense of the maps, compared to Democrats' extensive debate to the contrary. Bill sponsors mostly repeated a single argument in their defense — that the redrawn map was strictly an attempt to leverage the party's supermajority to secure another U.S. House seat. "[The map] was absolutely drafted on politics," said state Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, while introducing the map to the House. "This gives us a historic opportunity, and so we're taking advantage of that as the supermajority of this body." Republicans have maintained the new map did not factor race into the drawing of its districts. But Democrats believe the map is an attack on the Black vote. They said the map had, in effect, split the Black population in Memphis almost exactly into thirds. "Nearly half of the Black population in the state of Tennessee lives in Memphis and Shelby county," said state Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis. "How can we sit here and say this is not about race?" Retiring state Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-Bolivar, in what was likely his last time addressing the House as a lawmaker, recounted his own experiences with voter suppression laws as a child. "When I'm dead and gone, you remember this one thing — you are not doing anything but hurting yourself," Shaw said. "At midnight when nobody else is in your room, you gotta live with you." A lawsuit is expected to follow over the racial considerations of the new map. The map's district lines were drawn based on six year-old census data from 2020, calling into question the accuracy of such boundaries. Other concerns have risen that the redistricting will place undue strain on county election officials, who will now have an extremely slim timeline to prepare their counties for the primaries in August. Less than two hours after the new map was passed, state Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, announced his campaign for the newly-drawn Tennessee District 9 Congressional seat – the district formerly under Democrat control.