President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he spoke with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee about redrawing the state’s congressional districts to give Republicans a strategic advantage in the upcoming midterm elections. The conversation, which Trump detailed on his Truth Social platform, comes just a day after the Supreme Court issued a ruling that curbed the reach of a key provision in the Voting Rights Act that had been used to create majority-minority districts.
Trump wrote that Lee “stated that he would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw” in Tennessee’s current map, echoing the president’s longstanding claims that existing district lines are skewed against Republicans. “Likewise, all of the other Political Representatives of Tennessee have promised to do so,” Trump added. “This should give us one extra seat, and help Save our Country from the Radical Left Democrats, and their Country destroying Policies.”
The president’s push for a partisan redraw is the latest in a series of efforts by Trump and his allies to reshape congressional maps nationwide. Last summer, Trump publicly urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to revise that state’s map to gain five additional House seats—a move that sparked a broader redistricting race among GOP-controlled states. New Republican-friendly maps have already been enacted in Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, and Texas, while Florida is finalizing its own version. Democrats, meanwhile, have pushed through favorable maps in California and Virginia.
In Tennessee, the call for a new map has been amplified by Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor. Blackburn took to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday to demand that the state legislature reconvene and redraw the map to secure an additional GOP seat in the Memphis area. “It’s essential to cement @realDonaldTrump’s agenda and the Golden Age of America,” she wrote. Blackburn further vowed that as governor she would “keep Tennessee a red state” and make the new map a reality.
Republicans currently hold eight of Tennessee’s nine House seats, but the party is eager to lock in that advantage—or even expand it—as it clings to a razor-thin majority in the U.S. House. The Supreme Court’s ruling on Wednesday, which limited the scope of the Voting Rights Act’s Section 2, has emboldened GOP leaders to pursue more aggressive redistricting. House Speaker Mike Johnson has also urged states to redraw maps following the decision, as reported by The World Signal.
Trump’s involvement in Tennessee’s redistricting underscores a broader strategy to maximize Republican gains ahead of the midterms, where control of the House hangs in the balance. The president’s post ended with a pointed directive: “Thank you Governor Lee — PUSH HARD!” The Hill has reached out to Lee’s office for comment but has not yet received a response.
