State Sen. Brent Taylor wins Republican primary for Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — State Sen. Brent Taylor has won the Republican primary in a Tennessee congressional district that was redrawn to try to help the GOP gain an additional seat in the midterm elections.

Taylor was endorsed by President Donald Trump in the 9th Congressional District, the state’s only U.S. House seat currently held by a Democrat.

The Memphis-based district had a majority Black population, but it was redrawn by Republican officials this year after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities.

Trump cheered the redistricting as part of a national plan to try to help Republicans hold on to their slim House majority.

The new 9th District stretches about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east from Memphis across rural areas before reaching north toward Nashville. It previously favored Democrats but now tilts Republican, and some Memphis voters have raised concerns that their representation has been diminished.

After the redis...