Justin Pearson, a Tennessee state representative who rose to national prominence for his role in gun control and voting rights protests, won the Democratic primary on Thursday for a US House seat in Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, which Republican lawmakers dismantled earlier this year as part of a broader gerrymandering effort.

In his election night speech, Pearson called GOP redistricting—enabled by a recent US Supreme Court ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act’s protections against racial discrimination—an “attempt to keep people like us out of power.” The 9th Congressional District was previously Tennessee’s lone majority-Black district, but state Republicans broke it apart earlier this year following the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais.

“Exactly 61 years from the signing of the Voting Rights Act, we won our primary despite a redistricting blow that cracked Memphis’ representation in Congress, attacks on our community from Elon Musk and his toxic data centers, and attempts to divide us,” said Pearson, who ran on a platform that includes Medicare for All, a minimum wage increase, higher taxes on the rich, and universal rent caps. Pearson won nearly 66% of the vote in Thursday’s primary.

Pearson will now face Tennessee state Sen. Brent Taylor, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, in the general election. The 9th district "previously favored Democrats but now tilts Republican, with 71% of voters new to the district, according to The Associated Press.

“Tonight, on the 61st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, tens of thousands of voters across Tennessee’s newly drawn 9th congressional district showed up in the face of racial gerrymandering to demand a better future and advance a real fighter: Justin J. Pearson," Britney Whaley, southeast regional director of the Working Families Party, said in a statement late Thursday.

“While Republicans and billionaires try to drag Tennessee and the South back into the past with regressive policies, wrongful power grabs, and inaction in the face of mass suffering, the Working Families Party is proud to fight forward alongside Justin J. Pearson to build a future that centers America’s growing multiracial working class,” said Whaley. “A future where well-paying jobs are guaranteed and basic necessities are affordable. A future where our communities are safe from pollution and gun violence. A future where access to healthcare is a right for all, not a privilege for the fortunate few. A future where the needs of the people are prioritized over the interests of greedy corporations. A future where the promise of a fair democracy is finally fulfilled.”

Pearson’s primary victory came over three years after Tennessee Republicans expelled him from the state House of Representatives for leading protests in support of gun control following a deadly school shooting in Nashville. Pearson was later reinstated and subsequently won a special election by a huge margin.

Earlier this year, Pearson joined protests against Tennessee Republicans’ adoption of an aggressively gerrymandered congressional map.

“This is what evil looks like,” Pearson said at the time.

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