Rep. Steve Cohen likely to run again in ’24
Will be only Dem from Tennessee in Congress
U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, who has represented the 9th Congressional District in Congress since 2007, confirmed to The Commercial Appeal this week that he currently plans to run again in 2024.
“From what I hear from people, they want me to keep going,” Cohen said.
Cohen, 73, was overwhelmingly reelected on Nov. 8. He beat perennial Republican candidate Charlotte Bergmann. After Republican redistricting divided the 5th Congressional District into two districts that split Nashville, Cohen will be the only Democratic member of Congress from Tennessee.
The congressman has long been on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, a key committee for a city and region that economically relies on being a logistics hub. His party, however, will pass from the majority to the minority in the new Congress.
On Tuesday, some of Cohen’s effort in Washington, D.C., was on display. U.S. Transportation Pete Buttigieg described Cohen as “relentless” in how he sought federal dollars for his district.
“And I do mean relentless,” Buttigieg said during his visit to Memphis International Airport’s new $309 million deicing facility Tuesday.
Cohen and Memphis and Shelby County Airport Authority CEO Scott Brockman had just asked the cabinet secretary for further funding to renovate Memphis International Airport’s terminal.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland described Cohen Tuesday as a “mighty force” for Memphis over the past 30 years, dating back to his time in the Tennessee General Assembly. Strickland interned for Cohen.
If Cohen were ever to elect not to run, it would open up quite the vacuum in Memphis politics. Multiple established elected officials would likely run to fill the seat.
Speculation about Cohen’s future abounded for part of a day last year when veteran political reporter Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News tweeted Cohen was considering retirement. Cohen, a frequent Twitter user, replied that talk of his retirement was exaggerated and told Sherman he was not retiring.
Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman.