R&I – TxPAT ***
By Alex Rogers, CNN
Updated 5:18 AM ET, Tue July 6, 2021
(CNN) Rep. Jim Cooper has represented Nashville in the House for nearly 20 years, and a nearby district before that for another dozen, serving in Congress longer than anyone else in Tennessee. In the deep red state, he and his brother John — Music City’s mayor — are the keepers of one of its last Democratic bastions.
But Republicans are now considering breaking up Cooper’s district, which could help them gain another crucial seat in the House, where Democrats hold only a four-seat margin. With complete control of the state legislature, Tennessee Republicans could change the state’s House delegation from seven Republicans and two Democrats to eight Republicans and one Democrat based in Memphis.
In an interview, Cooper acknowledged that Republicans could effectively decide his political fate and warned that they may weaken Nashville’s influence in Washington.
“They couldn’t beat me fairly,” Cooper told CNN. “So, now they’re trying to beat me by gerrymandering.”
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Carl Sagan
Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/06/politics/republicans-target-tennessee-house-seat-jim-cooper/index.html