State Representative Justin Pearson has won the Democratic primary for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, setting up an interesting general election battle in a seat recently reshaped by state Republicans. Pearson defeated fellow Memphis lawmaker and state Senator London Lamar by a wide margin in Thursday’s primary.

Pearson first vaulted into the national spotlight in April 2023 as a member of the “Tennessee Three.” Following a deadly school shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Pearson and two fellow Democratic lawmakers led a peaceful gun control protest from the state House floor. Republican leadership responded by taking the historic step of expelling Pearson and Representative Justin Jones from the legislature.

The move backfired politically, drawing national outrage and turning Pearson into a prominent figure in progressive politics and civil rights advocacy. Local government boards swiftly reappointed both lawmakers to their seats, and Memphis voters overwhelmingly reelected Pearson in a subsequent special election later that year.

Since then, he has built a strong national profile and fundraising network, securing endorsements from prominent progressive figures including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Pearson’s primary victory comes after a dramatic legislative shakeup in Tennessee. Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections, the Republican-controlled state legislature redrew Tennessee’s congressional map just months before the primary.

The redesign dismantled the 9th District’s longstanding compact, majority-Black footprint centered in Memphis. Instead, the new boundaries stretch roughly 200 miles east across rural counties before reaching north toward the Nashville suburbs.

The redrawn map transformed a safe Democratic stronghold into a district that now tilts toward Republicans. The dramatic shift prompted longtime Democratic U.S. Representative Steve Cohen to retire, opening the field for Pearson and Lamar.

In the general election, Pearson will face Republican state Senator Brent Taylor, who won his party’s primary with an endorsement from President Donald Trump.