State Rep. Justin Pearson, the Memphis lawmaker who rose to prominence in 2023 as part of the “Tennessee Three,” announced on Wednesday that he’s challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen—joining a wave of younger progressives calling for generational change inside the party.
In his launch video, Pearson described himself as a “Memphian, born and raised, who understands how to build bridges across race, identity, ethnicity, and generations in order to build the future that we want to live into.”
“We always stand up against those who try to silence us, push us to the periphery, push us to the back, in the places that should represent us,” he added. “Now, I am ready to fight for us in the United States Congress.”
Rep. Steve Cohen has represented Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District since 2007.
The challenge marks the latest flashpoint between young activists and long-serving incumbents. Pearson, 30, is still a relative newcomer with deep roots in Memphis organizing, while Cohen, 76, has represented the city since 2007.
Pearson told The New York Times he isn’t framing the race around age, but around urgency—arguing that Memphis needs bolder leadership at a time when President Donald Trump has dispatched federal agents and is now sending National Guard troops to address crime in the city.
“This is about us being able to fight for our families, for our values, for our future, in this moment in time,” he said.
Pearson became a national figure after he and fellow lawmaker Justin Jones were expelled by Tennessee’s GOP-dominated legislature in 2023 for joining gun control protests on the House floor. Both were reinstated days later, while their colleague, state Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, narrowly survived her own expulsion vote. The trio became known as the “Tennessee Three,” raising hundreds of thousands of dollars from supporters nationwide. Johnson later ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.
Cohen’s seat—Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District—is safely Democratic, meaning the August primary will almost certainly decide the winner. The congressman, a member of the House Progressive Caucus and Tennessee’s lone Democratic representative in Washington, has already said he intends to run again.
Last fall, Cohen told Axios he was “not worried” about a primary challenge, calling it “a mistake” for anyone to run against him.
Pearson’s launch video leans on his activist roots and his message of inclusion.
“You can’t spell us without you,” he said.
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The son of a teacher and a preacher, he began organizing in high school, lobbying his district for new textbooks. He later led a grassroots campaign against a proposed oil pipeline that would have cut through historic Black neighborhoods in Memphis—a fight that drew support from Al Gore and Justin Timberlake, and ended in victory.
Now, according to The Guardian, Pearson is running on a progressive platform that includes a plan to lower health care costs, make housing more affordable, and tighten gun laws. But his central pitch is clear: Democrats can’t keep doing politics the same old way
He’s also taken aim at billionaire tech titan Elon Musk’s plan to build a massive xAI supercomputer complex in southwest Memphis, as well as the federal task force Trump sent to the city. Cohen has opposed the National Guard deployment but has voiced support for helping local police reduce violent crime.
Democratic House hopeful Justin Pearson has roots as an organizer and an activist.
Pearson’s campaign has the backing of Leaders We Deserve, the youth-focused PAC co-founded by gun control activist David Hogg, which pledged to spend $1 million to help him unseat Cohen—the group’s largest investment to date, according to NBC News.
“Justin Pearson is a transformational leader who can inspire a new generation,” Hogg said, urging Cohen to “pass the torch.”
He’s also got the backing of Justice Democrats, the group that powered New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s win in 2018.
“This district does not have time to wait or keep going with the same status quo leadership that has governed for decades,” Alexandra Rojas, the group’s executive director, said in a statement to the Times and other media outlets.
These groups are banding together as part of a bigger movement of young candidates hoping to take down the Democratic Party’s old guard. Some longtime lawmakers, like New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, have already announced plans to step aside to make room for the next generation.
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As that movement gathers steam, Pearson’s campaign is testing whether the Democratic establishment is ready to hand over the reins—or if another fight for the future is about to begin.
