The ruling represents a major victory for Tennessee Republicans and supporters of the new map, who argue the changes reflect the Supreme Court’s instruction that redistricting should be race-neutral rather than driven by racial quotas or federally mandated minority districts.
Republicans nationally have increasingly argued that race-based districting unfairly entrenches Democratic power by concentrating voters into protected districts.
At the same time, Republicans suffered a setback in neighboring Alabama.
A three-judge federal panel ruled Tuesday that Alabama Republicans cannot use a newly proposed congressional map that would have created another potential Republican pickup opportunity in the state.
Instead, Alabama must continue using a court-ordered map that added a second majority-Black district and helped elect Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures.
