When Tennessee Republicans divided Memphis into three congressional districts with the goal of flipping Tennessee’s last Democratic seat in Congress red, they also created the possibility that Memphians could be represented by someone who lives as far away as Williamson County.
The new districts are sprawling, stretching into middle Tennessee. That distance could lead to Memphians receiving worse representation in ways that go beyond partisan politics.
A congressperson is the “voice” of their constituents, said Casey Burgat, an associate professor at The George Washington University and an expert on the U.S. Congress. Coming from the same area as constituents means a congressperson may have experienced issues firsthand or heard constituent needs directly during town halls or chance encounters in the grocery store.
Representatives in the U.S. House often spend time in their districts to learn what issues need to be addressed, what projects need funding and what legislation should be passed via town halls, meetings with nonprofits or neighborhood groups and more.
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“It’s crucial to stay connected to the challenges and opportunities across our community, and these conversations help me take your ideas and concerns directly to Washington,” Rep. Steve Cohen wrote in his 2025 Year in Review newsletter. Cohen, who represents District 9, ended his re-election bid following the redistricting fight.
Having a representative who lives further away means they won’t hear directly from their constituents as often, Burgat said.
“The person can only be in one place, and the person’s priorities can only primarily come from one place,” said Daniel Kiel, a professor at the University of Memphis School of Law.
Coming from a different background can result in a representative holding different values than their constituents, Burgat said. A Republican congressperson may pursue very different legislation than a Democratic congressperson would.
“The job of a congressman is incredibly hard. You can’t serve everyone all of the time, and the more varied your constituencies are, the harder it is to represent all of them to a satisfying degree,” Burgat said.
Here are three ways being represented by someone who lives outside of your community can hurt the quality of representation you get in Congress.
Constituent services
The constituent services aspect of a congressperson’s job is often overlooked by the public, Burgat said, but one that can make a significant difference to the lives of individual constituents.
Representatives often help their constituents when they have issues with federal agencies. For example, Cohen’s website has a form where people can request help with passport issues, Social Security, immigration services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the IRS and more.
“Constituents are right to be concerned about where their representative is from,” Burgat said. “If they’re not from where you’re from, they’re not in tune to the specific needs of that particular district and turning those needs into responsiveness.”
Before going to law school, Kiel worked in a local district office. People would come for help with things like Social Security, and the congressperson’s aides would “facilitate conversations with the Social Security Administration that (constituents) wouldn’t have been able to facilitate on their own.”
Members of Congress can also nominate candidates for appointment to four of the five U.S. service academies. People who are nominated receive a quality, tuition-free undergraduate education in exchange for at least five years of active-duty military service. They also have a direct pathway to becoming a commissioned officer. Representatives may be more likely to nominate people from their own communities, Burgat said.
Legislation
U.S. representatives have a variety of responsibilities, including voting on bills, vetting political appointees, and serving on committees. Their decisions directly affect the lives of their constituents, including when they create new laws. Legislation passed by Congress can impact everything from wars abroad to pedestrian infrastructure to taxes to gun restrictions to healthcare.
Republicans and Democrats have many fundamental disagreements, Burgat said, so which party a congressperson comes from can affect legislation on climate protection, crime, poverty and more.
“Memphis doesn’t even have one singular culture, so the more that you make those different cultures within one district, it gets harder to represent all of those interests equally,” Burgat said.
The more representative a congressperson is of constituent needs — whether that’s “ideologically, politically, economically … religiously or demographically” — the stronger representation can be, Burgat said. “The further removed you are from all of those things … (it) gets harder to advocate in a very specific way that’s necessary for getting these legislative wins.”
While ideally, a representative should serve all their constituents — regardless of party or geography — “there’s a concern if you’re in a district where you’re not in the majority, that your priorities are going to be ignored and that you’re not going to have the ear of your representative in the way that in a functioning democracy you ought to,” Kiel said.
Finances
A congressperson can also play a role in directing funding to their district. Federal grant funding in Shelby County in the last year went to everything from the Memphis-Shelby County International Airport to public transit to early childhood education and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.
Cohen has often touted his role in obtaining more than $393 million in funding for the I-55 King’s Crossing Bridge in 2024, under then-President Joe Biden. Cohen says the funds represent “the largest infrastructure investment in Tennessee history.” Obtaining the funds partially stemmed from his role on the transportation committee, where a congressperson can exert their greatest influence, Burgat said.
In testimony opposing redistricting before the legislature in Nashville, Cohen warned that should the next president be a Democrat, Tennessee legislators will regret sending only Republicans to Congress.
“The majority has more avenues, levers of power to pull to make sure that the majority’s needs and majority members’ districts are compensated for their needs,” Burgat said.
Kiel called how federal dollars get spent “probably the most significant thing” a congressperson does locally. That, too, can be impacted by different desires of different communities.
A rural area with just one public high school will have different education-related needs than a city with a variety of public and private schools, Kiel said. Some areas may be more concerned about transportation, while others may be more concerned about free lunches.
“People build movements based on common interests, and common interests often come from proximity, and I think it becomes more difficult to build a movement when … you are sort of in this artificial community with people who may not share your interests, they may not share your needs,” Kiel said. “You know, there’ll be some things that are common, but just the needs are different in different places.”
Katherine Burgess is the government accountability reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Contact her at katherine.burgess@mlk50.com
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