Longtime Tennessee Rep. Jim Cooper to retire in wake of Nashville redistricting

Longtime Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.) will not run for re-election, he announced Tuesday, attributing his decision, at least in part, to his inability to stop the state General Assembly from "dismembering Nashville" in its redistricting process.

"After 32 years in office, I will be leaving Congress next year," Cooper, 67, wrote in a statement posted on Twitter. "I cannot thank the people of Nashville enough. You backed me more than almost anyone in Tennessee history, making me the state's third longest-serving member of Congress."

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.