U.S. House Candidate Profile

Steve I Cohen

Updated

DemocraticU.S. HouseTennessee09

Background

Stephen Ira Cohen (born May 24, 1949) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Tennessee's 9th congressional district, a majority-minority district centered in Memphis, since 2007. Previously, he served in the Tennessee Senate from 1983 to 2006. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

A progressive, Cohen was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. He is the first Jewish person to represent Tennessee in Congress, and one of the few Jewish members of Congress to have represented a majority-black district. He has repeatedly faced electoral challenges from opponents who argued that the district should be represented by a black lawmaker, but has consistently won reelection since 2006.

Since 2023, Cohen is the only Democrat in Tennessee's congressional delegation. Cohen will retire from the House in 2027 after announcing that he would not run for re-election in 2026 due to the Tennessee redistricting.

Source: Wikipedia, "Steve Cohen (politician)" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Cohen_(politician)), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Excerpt of the article's lead section; pronunciation guides and citation markers removed.

Last updated 2026-10-24.

Sourced summary

Steve I Mr. unitedstates.github.io

Floor speech (extensions): May 13, 2025 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov

Tennessee SoS Division of Elections Candidate Lists (XLSX) lists Steve Cohen as a Democrat candidate for United States House of Representatives 9 in the 2026 sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com

Floor speech (house): June 26, 2025 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov

Floor speech (extensions): July 16, 2025 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov

Floor speech (extensions): January 20, 2026 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov

Floor speech (house): February 8, 2023 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov

Floor speech (house): January 13, 2021 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov

Finance snapshot

Steve I Cohen's FEC candidate id is H6TN09068

Claim timeline

Floor speech (house): July 16, 2019 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov Retrieved 2026-05-13.

Floor speech (extensions): December 5, 2025 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov Retrieved 2026-05-13.

Floor speech (extensions): December 16, 2025 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov Retrieved 2026-05-13.

Floor speech (house): May 5, 2025 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov Retrieved 2026-05-13.

Floor speech (house): June 24, 2025 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov Retrieved 2026-05-13.

Floor speech (house): April 20, 2026 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov Retrieved 2026-05-13.

Floor speech (house): November 19, 2025 - Issue: Vol. congress.gov Retrieved 2026-05-13.

[2007-02-27] Floor speech (house): [Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 27, 2007)] govinfo.gov Retrieved 2026-05-13.

Race and district

Other indexed profiles in this race.

Brent Taylor (Republican), Charlotte Bergmann (Republican), Dennis Jeffrey Clark (Independent), James New (Republican), James Torino Ph.D. (Democratic), Jeremy Thompson (Republican), Justin J. Pearson (Democratic), London Lamar (Democratic).

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Steve I Cohen profile reference

Profile status: Active candidate. Roster status: incumbent. Race status: discovered.

No certified general-election roster row matched this profile.

Valid citations 4390. Primary-source references 4390. First seen 2026-05-05. Last seen 2026-10-06. Profile record updated 2026-10-17.

Published claim kinds: Background 15, Statements 29, Finance 2, Votes 3584, Other sourced notes 689, ideology 2.

Other ids: Other voteview:119:20748; Bioguide C001068; Wikidata Q512330; Vote Smart 24340; Ballotpedia Steve Cohen; OpenSecrets N00003225.

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10 other indexed profiles returned with Steve I Cohen. Not a certified ballot.

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