By Shaun White
(Source: HBCUNews)
By Bridget Bowman
Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson, who drew national attention in 2023 for protesting gun violence on the state House floor, announced Wednesday that he is launching a Democratic primary challenge against longtime Rep. Steve Cohen.
Pearson was one of three Democratic state legislators, who became known as the “Tennessee Three,” who led protests on the floor after a school shooting. Pearson and fellow state Rep. Justin Jones were expelled from the Legislature, while state Rep. Gloria Johnson withstood her expulsion vote. Pearson and Jones were eventually reinstated.
Pearson, 30, is the latest young Democrat to take on a veteran House member as the party’s younger voters voice frustration with older leaders. He enters the race with support from two groups backing Democratic primary challengers: Justice Democrats and Leaders We Deserve, a group led by former Democratic National Committee Vice Chair David Hogg. Leaders We Deserve announced plans to invest $1 million in the race.
“For too long, our district has been told to ‘keep going’ with the same leadership and the same outcomes,” Pearson said in a statement launching his campaign in the deep-blue 9th District. Citing the poverty rate in Memphis, the district’s population center, he said: “Our median income in 2024 was only 65% of the national average. Poverty persists across neighborhoods and we’ve seen significantly less federal investment compared to other communities in Tennessee.”
“We can’t afford more of the same,” Pearson said. “It’s time for a new vision — one that matches the scale of our challenges with the urgency our people deserve.”
Both Justice Democrats and Leaders We Deserve called for new leadership in Congress after recent actions by the Trump administration. The groups have also backed state Rep. Donavan McKinney’s Democratic primary challenge against Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan, while Justice Democrats have also endorsed Angela Gonzales-Torres, a Democrat running against Rep. Jimmy Gomez in California.
“The communities and rising young leadership Justin represents in the 9th are on the frontlines of Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s war on working families,” Justice Democrats Executive Director Alexandra Rojas said in a statement, later adding, “This district does not have time to wait or keep going with the same status quo leadership that has governed for decades.”
Hogg called Pearson a “tested fighter” in a statement, saying, “In this moment of crisis, I’m calling on Representative Steve Cohen to pass the torch to Justin J. Pearson — a transformational leader who can inspire a new generation.”
Cohen, 76, who was first elected to the House in 2006 after having served in the state Senate for roughly two decades, is on the Judiciary and Intelligence committees and a frequent critic of the Trump administration. He has been known for some colorful moments, including eating fried chicken at a Judiciary Committee hearing to mock then-Attorney General William Barr for declining to testify in front of the panel.
Cohen posted on a campaign Facebook page ahead of Pearson’s announcement, writing, “With your continued support, we will turn back this challenge in the Democratic Primary and go on to work with the incoming Democratic House Majority to put a stop to this runaway administration.”
“With a shutdown, an out-of-control, power-grabbing executive, and ICE and the National Guard on the streets of Memphis, this is a time for the experience and institutional knowledge that I bring to the table,” Cohen wrote.
Cohen also touted his role in bringing federal funds to the district in an interview with the New York Times, noting, “I’ve been effective from age 26 to age 76, and I’ll be effective at age 77 and at age 78. Because I do one thing, and I do it well, and that’s legislating.”
Pearson suggested in a news release that Cohen, who has not faced a competitive primary race since his first race nearly 20 years ago, has not engaged consistently with his constituents.
“Our people need a fighter who will be in the fight for justice and opportunity with them — not just in title, but in action,” Pearson said.
Pearson’s campaign listed several priorities, including affordable housing, “common sense gun legislation,” federal funds to combat poverty and crime, “Medicare for all” and supporting military veterans.
Whoever wins the Democratic primary would be expected to carry the district next year. Cohen won re-election last year by 46 percentage points, and Kamala Harris carried the district by 44 points.