Tennessee State Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D) lost his race for the 9th Congressional District and conceded to State Sen. Brent Taylor (R) on Wednesday after the midterm elections on Tuesday.
Taylor received about 2,500 more votes than his Democrat opponent, the Tennessee Outlook reported.
“Pearson will continue to serve Memphis in his role as District 86’s state representative,” the outlet said.
While speaking to his supporters on Tuesday evening, Pearson said “What I will tell you, without a shadow of a single doubt, is that together we changed history. Tennessee, and Tennessee politics, will never be the same again. Together, we have made history in a district that they drew to gerrymander us into oblivion.”
During his watch party on Tuesday, Taylor pointed out that “Democrats did not want to give that seat up,” Action News 5 reported. Taylor also said, “And he worked hard. We all worked hard. But I believe the voters in this case chose correctly. They chose confidence over chaos.”
The outlet noted that “For the first time in decades, Memphis will be represented in Washington by Republicans. Redistricting split Memphis into three districts, and Republicans won all three seats Tuesday.”
In 2023, Pearson claimed Republicans in his State House were trying to turn democracy into “mob rules” and last year declared the Republican Party had been captured by “fascists and neo-Confederates,” according to Breitbart News.
He has also called President Donald Trump a “white supremacist domestic terrorist,” and also said he was the “biggest white supremacist in the United States.”
In his statement on the outcome of the election, Pearson said, “I accept the results of this election for Congress. But, I will not concede to rigged maps, attacks on democracy in Tennessee, or to billionaire control of our political system.”
Taylor thanked voters in his own statement and recounted his accomplishments while also laying out his plans.
“My former opponent and his Democratic Socialist comrades have agendas that lead to higher energy costs, grocery prices, and more regulation on businesses and farms. While I will work with anyone to lower costs, I will fight anyone whose failing ideas will increase costs on Tennesseans,” he wrote:
“District 9 is David Crockett’s old district. He was elected to Congress in 1826: 200 years ago this election! I think I have that same Tennessee grit that David Crockett exemplified, and I will fight for Tennesseans every single day. The hard work started yesterday, and I look forward to representing you. After my faith and my family, it is my greatest honor and responsibility. I will not let you down!” Taylor concluded.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) won Tennessee’s gubernatorial race Tuesday against Memphis Councilwoman Jerri Green (D), according to Breitbart News.
