Memphis split becomes opportunity for Dems’ bench

Voters are likely to receive a lot more campaign texts this summer. Candidates — new, old, Democrat, Republican — have moved swiftly ahead of a new May 15 registration deadline set by last week’s special session on redistricting that drew out Memphis’ longtime congressional seat. Spreading around the roughly 1 million people in the Memphis area has affected district boundaries across the state, shifting the terrain for Tennessee's politicos.

As of May 12, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is the latest familiar name on the Tennessee secretary of state’s list of prospective congressional candidates, published daily, who have pursued preliminary paperwork. Barry lost a 2024 race against former U.S. Rep. Mark Green in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, which included parts of Nashville and Clarksville. Now she is eyeing the neighboring 6th District, left open by incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. John Rose, who is running for governor. She took the mayor’s office with an outsider victory in 2015 before resigning in 2018 amid threat of an indictment for a sexual relationship with a member of her security detail.