--- title: "Alabama and Tennessee Redistricting | Model Diplomat" description: "Alabama and Tennessee Republicans rush to redraw House maps, seizing a Supreme Court opening to maximize GOP seats and reshape voting rights before 2026." url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/story/alabama-and-tennessee-redistricting-gops-mid-decade-strategy" --- # Alabama and Tennessee Redistricting Republicans aim to redraw House maps for electoral gains. Model DiplomatMay 4, 20263 min readSouthern United States [Maegan VazquezTennessee, Alabama move toward adding Republican House seats - The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/01/alabama-tennessee-gerrymandering-congress-vra/)[Fredreka SchoutenAlabama and Tennessee join rush of southern states moving to redraw maps after Supreme Court ruling | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/01/politics/alabama-special-session-redistricting-voting-rights-act)[David A. Lieb | APRedistricting battle intensifies in states after US Supreme Court ruling on Voting Rights Act - The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/01/voting-rights-act-redistricting-congress/c2c665ac-4581-11f1-b19d-32431046b5b4_story.html) ## Alabama and Tennessee Push Post-VRA House Gains *Republicans are using a new Supreme Court opening to redraw Southern House maps mid-decade, aiming to bank seats before courts can reimpose limits.* Republican leaders in Alabama and Tennessee are moving fast because they believe the Supreme Court just shifted the balance of power in their favor. Governors Kay Ivey and Bill Lee have called special sessions to consider new congressional maps after a ruling that, according to AP and CNN, weakened Voting Rights Act protections by striking down Louisiana’s majority-Black district and narrowing the legal space for race-conscious mapmaking. [Alabama and Tennessee move to draw new congressional districts](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/04/redistricting-supreme-court-voting-rights-act/eb203be2-476e-11f1-a119-857cd2bf4fd4_story.html "washingtonpost.com") [Alabama and Tennessee join rush of southern states moving to redraw maps](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/01/politics/alabama-special-session-redistricting-voting-rights-act "cnn.com") ## Why this matters This is a seat-maximization play, not a legal cleanup. The Washington Post reported that Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has already paused U.S. House primaries to allow redistricting, which makes Alabama and Tennessee look less like isolated cases than a coordinated Southern effort to convert a court ruling into House seats before 2026 ballots are locked in. [Tennessee, Alabama move toward adding Republican House seats](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/01/alabama-tennessee-gerrymandering-congress-vra/ "washingtonpost.com") Alabama is the clearest test case because courts were already forcing the state in the opposite direction. In 2023, the Supreme Court’s decision in *Allen v. Milligan* preserved a pathway for a second district where Black voters could elect their preferred candidate; then, in 2025, a federal three-judge panel found Alabama had intentionally diluted Black votes in its 2023 map, and a court-drawn 2024 map helped elect two Black members of Congress for the first time in roughly 150 years. [Alabama 'purposely' diluted Black votes with congressional plan, court finds](https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/08/politics/alabama-congressional-plan-court-ruling "cnn.com") Tennessee’s logic is even more openly partisan. The state already showed in 2022 that it was willing to break up Democratic territory by carving the old 5th District into three Republican-leaning seats, a move that helped elect Rep. Andy Ogles; now the obvious pressure point is Memphis and the seat held by Democrat Steve Cohen. [Trump pushes Tennessee to redraw maps, Lee stops short of pledge](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/04/30/trump-post-tennessee-redistrict-house-seat-republican/89875592007/ "usatoday.com") [Alabama and Tennessee join rush of southern states moving to redraw maps](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/01/politics/alabama-special-session-redistricting-voting-rights-act "cnn.com") For the broader [US Politics](https://modeldiplomat.com/discover/us-politics "modeldiplomat.com") fight in the [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/usa "modeldiplomat.com"), the implication is straightforward: if Republicans can redraw mid-decade in states they already control, they can chase marginal House gains without waiting for the 2030 census. Republicans will argue they are aligning maps with the Court’s new guidance and voter preferences; Democrats and voting-rights lawyers will argue the ruling is being used to unwind hard-won minority representation. ## What to watch next The next lever is speed. Tennessee faces practical ballot and candidate-signature complications if it redraws again, while Alabama may first need to get relief from court constraints before lawmakers can move aggressively. [Trump pushes Tennessee to redraw maps, Lee stops short of pledge](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/04/30/trump-post-tennessee-redistrict-house-seat-republican/89875592007/ "usatoday.com") [Alabama and Tennessee join rush of southern states moving to redraw maps](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/01/politics/alabama-special-session-redistricting-voting-rights-act "cnn.com") The bigger question is whether judges treat this as ordinary redistricting or as a direct attempt to reverse prior Voting Rights Act remedies. Watch the first draft maps from Montgomery and Nashville, any Alabama bid to lift existing restraints, and whether other Republican-led Southern states follow Louisiana’s template. [Tennessee, Alabama move toward adding Republican House seats](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/05/01/alabama-tennessee-gerrymandering-congress-vra/ "washingtonpost.com") [Redistricting](https://modeldiplomat.com/tag/redistricting)[Voting Rights](https://modeldiplomat.com/tag/voting-rights)[Republican Strategy](https://modeldiplomat.com/tag/republican-strategy)[Southern Politics](https://modeldiplomat.com/tag/southern-politics)[Elections](https://modeldiplomat.com/tag/elections) Discover more [US Politics](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/alabama-gop-map-blocked-by-federal-court) #### [Alabama GOP Map Blocked by Federal Court](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/alabama-gop-map-blocked-by-federal-court) [A federal court blocked Alabama's new GOP congressional map, preserving Black voter representation and reigniting the long redistricting fight over voting.](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/alabama-gop-map-blocked-by-federal-court) [US Politics](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/alabama-redistricting-ruling-blunts-gop) #### [Alabama Redistricting Ruling Blunts GOP](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/alabama-redistricting-ruling-blunts-gop) [An Alabama redistricting ruling preserves a second Black-majority district, blunting GOP map plans and reshaping voting rights stakes heading into the midterms.](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/alabama-redistricting-ruling-blunts-gop) [US Politics](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/alabama-bets-the-courts-will-reopen-its-house-map) #### [Alabama GOP Pushes for New House Map Primar](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/alabama-bets-the-courts-will-reopen-its-house-map) [Alabama Republicans bet that court rulings will reopen the state's House map, seeking redistricting gains in a fight tangled with voting rights and elections.](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/alabama-bets-the-courts-will-reopen-its-house-map) [US Politics](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/trumps-redistricting-strategy-a-tactic-to-control-elections) #### [Trump's Redistricting Strategy](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/trumps-redistricting-strategy-a-tactic-to-control-elections) [Trump's redistricting efforts create 10 GOP-leaning House seats and reshape Voting Rights Act rules, impacting future elections.](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/trumps-redistricting-strategy-a-tactic-to-control-elections)