Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) announced on May 15, 2026, that he will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026.

Cohen’s announcement came after the Tennessee General Assembly passed a new congressional map on May 7, 2026, which Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed that day. Based on the 2024 presidential election results, the new map would make the district that Cohen currently represents, Tennessee's 9th Congressional District, more favorable to Republicans.

In a statement, Cohen said, “This morning I made public my decision not to run in any of the three gerrymandered congressional districts carved out of the 9th District I have represented for more than 19 years. [...] It has been the honor of a lifetime to represent the people of Memphis in my 47 years of public service, first at the state Constitutional Convention and on the Shelby County Commission, then 24 years in the state Senate and now more than 19 years in Congress.”

In 2006, Cohen won his first term in the U.S. House in Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District after then-incumbent Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D) announced he was running for the U.S. Senate instead of re-election in the U.S. House. In the general election, Cohen defeated Mark White (R) 60% to 18%.

Cohen won by a median of 52.5 percentage points in his eight re-election bids in which he ran with major party opposition. Cohen ran without major party opposition in 2008. Cohen’s widest margin of victory (MOV) in the district was in 2018, when he won by 61 percentage points. His narrowest MOV in the district was in 2022, when he won by 44 percentage points.

As of May 15, 2026, independent race forecasters The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections have rated the 2026 general election for the district as Solid Republican. Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Republican.

As of May 15, 2026, Cohen is one of 68 members of the U.S. Congress — 11 U.S. Senate members and 57 U.S. House members — who have announced they will not seek re-election to their current seats in 2026.

Of the 57 U.S. House incumbents who are not seeking re-election:

• Thirty — 14 Democrats and 16 Republicans — are retiring from public office.
• Sixteen — seven Democrats and nine Republicans — are running for the U.S. Senate.
• Ten — all Republicans — are running for governor.
• One Republican is running for state attorney general.

Compared to the last four election cycles, there were 44 retirement announcements at this point in 2024, 48 in 2022, 35 in 2020, and 51 in 2018. 

Between January 2011 and May 2026, Ballotpedia tracked 360 announcements by U.S. House members that they would not seek re-election. January had the highest number of members announcing they would not run for re-election at 62. The fewest announcements took place in June at 15.