‘Tennessee Three’s’ Justin Pearson launches challenge against Democratic congressman

Justin Pearson, a Memphis state lawmaker who rose to prominence in 2023 as part of the “Tennessee Three” gun control advocates, on Wednesday launched a primary challenge against Democratic congressman Steve Cohen, joining a wave of younger candidates calling for generational change in the party.

“For too long, our district has been told to ‘keep going’ with the same leadership and the same outcomes, even as Memphis’s poverty rate at 22.6% is nearly double the rate for all Tennesseans,” Pearson, 30, said in a statement, announcing his candidacy. “We can’t afford more of the same.”

The winner of the primary for Tennessee’s ninth congressional district is likely to win the general election in the deep blue seat. Cohen, 76, a member of the House progressive caucus and the sole Democratic member of the Tennessee congressional delegation, has said he intends to run for re-election.

In September, the congressman told Axios that he was “not worried” about a primary challenge and that it would “be a mistake for somebody to run against me” because his successor would probably be the person who earned his endorsement.

Pearson became a breakout star as one of two Black lawmakers expelled by the chamber’s predominantly white, Republican majority after they led a protest in the state capitol to demand stronger gun safety laws following a mass shooting at an elementary school in Nashville. He and fellow House member Justin Jones were ultimately re-instated. The third lawmaker, Gloria Johnson, who is white, survived an expulsion vote.

Pearson’s campaign launch video spotlights his activism around gun safety, with the message: “You can’t spell us without you.”

The son of a teacher and a preacher, Pearson’s activism began in high school, where he lobbied the school board for new textbooks. He first attracted national attention after taking a stand against a crude oil pipeline projected to run through historic Black neighborhoods in Memphis. Justin Timberlake and Al Gore joined his cause – and they won.

“It’s time for a new vision – one that matches the scale of our challenges with the urgency our people deserve,” Pearson said in a statement.

His campaign outlined a progressive agenda centered around lowering the cost of healthcare, improving housing affordability and tightening gun laws. But his central case against Cohen echoes the deep dissatisfaction many younger Democrats have with their party’s old guard.

Pearson is running with the endorsement of Leaders We Deserve, a group co-founded by gun control activist David Hogg that helps elect young people to office and has pledged to spend millions of dollars challenging “asleep-at-the-wheel” House Democrats in safe blue seats. On Wednesday, the group announced it would spend $1m to support Pearson in the primary – its largest investment to date.

In a statement, Hogg called Pearson a “transformational leader who can inspire a new generation” and urged Cohen to “pass the torch”.

Pearson has also received the backing of Justice Democrats, a progressive group formed during the first Trump administration that has helped elect members of the Squad.

“Tennessee voters need more than Congressional letters and tweets,” said Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats. “They need a congressperson that will fight with every tool at their disposal to deliver real, tangible change with solutions as big as the crises we face.”

Justice Democrats and Leaders We Deserve say they anticipate potentially dozens of challenges to House Democrats. Some incumbents have already announced their retirement, citing the need to make room for the next generation of leaders forged by the politics of the Trump era.

Last month, the long-serving New York congressman Jerry Nadler announced his retirement after indicating he had little intention of leaving his seat. And in May, Illinois congresswoman Jan Schakowsky announced she would not seek re-election. The former House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who has not said whether she intends to seek re-election, is facing a challenge from 39-year-old Saikat Chakrabarti, a software engineer turned political operative who served as congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s first chief of staff.