State Rep. Justin J. Pearson has conceded in the Memphis-area congressional district that was redrawn to favor Republicans.

Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor declared victory Tuesday night. The AP has not called the race.

The district was one of several Southern districts represented by Black Democrats that were redrawn in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision weakening the Voting Rights Act.

Pearson said Wednesday that he came close to victory in the gerrymandered district and noted that “Tennessee politics will never be the same.”

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[–] [S] 44 points 2 days ago

Sad, was really hoping for him to pull through, and it would have been a fantastic story. Hopefully this isn't the end for Pearson

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  • [–] 43 points 2 days ago

    Fucking supermajority and governor that can't answer questions that aren't from a script.

    I'm so glad there was a left shift.

    Hopefully next time around we can get rid of these R douchbags

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  • [–] 23 points 2 days ago

    I was really pulling for Jerri Green for governor. She got so close too, I was super excited.

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  • [–] 17 points 2 days ago

    for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee

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  • [–] 10 points 1 day ago (4 children)

    Memphis really got fucked in this redistricting, as was planned. As did the rest of TN. The governor's race was ~2% difference in votes, yet republicans take 8/9 seats in the house. IDK what the solution is but gerrymandering has got to go. It's not good for democracies.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 day ago

    Being from TN I can tell you the racists there fucking hate Memphis. TN doesn’t deserve Memphis. It’s such a cool city with a rich history and cool people. I just wish they had more allies in the state.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 days ago (2 children)

    Why concede before the news media calls it?

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  • [–] 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

    I mean, the news media isn't some sort of authority here. They could mis-call or delay calling or not call at all, and news outlets don't coordinate in when they make calls.

    EDIT: Actually, I don't think that the concession has authority either. Like, it's the elections people counting the votes that decide.

    searches

    Yeah, the concession is just a custom. No legal impact.

    https://www.npr.org/sections/politicaljunkie/2009/11/hoffman_unconcedes_in_new_york.html

    Hoffman 'Unconcedes' In New York 23; Absentee Count Begins Today

    Conceding an election doesn't necessarily mean anything, other than it's a gracious way of congratulating a victorious opponent. But it holds no legal meaning. Al Gore conceded to George W. Bush on election night 2000, only to withdraw that concession when Florida turned out to be too close to call. (He conceded once again, on Dec. 13, only after the U.S. Supreme Court ended his hopes of finding victory in the legal system.)

    Technically news media could call the race one way (heck, multiple outlets calling it different ways), candidates concede indicating another, and the election authorities count the votes and make a call a third way, and the last would be what determines the outcome.

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