Cruz is reacting to Tennessee's GOP-led redistricting that cracks majority-Black Memphis into three districts to eliminate the state's lone Democratic-held seat currently held by White Democrat Steve Cohen . He's right that the redrawn 9th District could see Cohen replaced by Charlotte Bergmann, a Black female Republican — but the framing skips the actual objection: Democrats and civil rights groups argue the map dilutes Black voting power overall, not that a Black Republican winning is bad. The map passed days after the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act's protections against racial discrimination in redistricting , which is the structural context Cruz omits. Tennessee is the ninth state to redraw its map mid-decade after Trump pushed GOP states to shore up the House majority, with Republicans potentially gaining up to 14 seats nationally .