Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), a 10-term congressman from Memphis, Tenn., has long occupied a unique position in U.S. politics. The 76-year-old lawmaker, who became Tennessee’s first Jewish member of the delegation when he took office in 2007, is the only Democratic House member in his solidly conservative state.

And as the lone white member of either party to represent a majority-Black district, Cohen has also managed to deftly navigate a delicate racial dynamic in his district, only facing occasional primary challenges from Black challengers. Through it all, he has been a political powerhouse in Memphis, holding onto his seat by building a broad and diverse coalition of support.  

Now, he is facing what could be his biggest test in years as he prepares to go up against a formidable new challenger in the 2026 primaries, at a moment when some veteran Democratic House members are under growing pressure from a crop of younger opponents who are pushing for generational change to revive the party’s declining image among younger, disillusioned voters.

Justin Pearson, a Democratic state legislator from Memphis who rose to national prominence in 2023 when he and a fellow Black colleague were expelled from the Tennessee General Assembly for leading a gun control protest on the House floor, announced last week that he would challenge Cohen in what is shaping up to be a bitterly contested and expensive primary, highlighting differences over identity as well as hot-button issues such as Israel and the war in Gaza.

In his kickoff video, Pearson, 30, described himself as “a Memphian, born and raised, who understands how to build bridges across race, identity, ethnicity and generations in order to build the future that we want to live into.”

He added he would “always stand up against those who try to silence us, push us to the periphery, push us to the back — in the places that should represent us.”

Pearson’s launch came with backing from Justice Democrats, a far-left group that has helped to buoy a number of Squad members, and Leaders We Deserve, a new political organization co-founded by activist David Hogg, which has pledged to spend $1 million in the race.

While Pearson, who assumed office in 2023 and is well-known in Memphis, has so far emphasized that while he does not intend to focus on Cohen’s age as a factor in the race, he argues that the district needs more active leadership amid concerns about President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard troops to the city to fight violent crime, which the congressman has opposed.

Among the sharpest ideological distinctions in the race are their dueling approaches to Israel and Gaza. In recent comments, Pearson, whose campaign did not respond to requests for an interview, has called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide and suggested he would support withholding U.S. military funding to Israel — joining a chorus of far-left lawmakers who are now urging the party to distance itself from the Jewish state.

Pearson, who advocates for what he calls a “diplomacy-first mindset” on the foreign policy section of his campaign site, has not weighed in on the new ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Israel and Hamas.

For his part, Cohen, who has drawn protesters in his district over his support for Israel, says that he disagrees with Pearson’s claims of genocide in Gaza — even as he acknowledged “some things that have happened” that have “concerned me greatly,” citing child malnourishment in Gaza, among other problems. Still, “I’ve resisted that pressure” to use the term, he said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Friday. “And I’ve had a lot of pressure.”

Cohen, who has frequently pushed for increasing humanitarian aid into Gaza and signed a letter last year accusing Israel of violating U.S. arms sales law, said he had “not advocated to cut off weapon sales” to Israel. “I’ve thought about offensive weapons but haven’t come out for it,” he explained, noting he had been convinced otherwise by a recent opinion piece against the move by Benny Gantz, the former Israeli defense minister whose argument Cohen described as “substantive.”

“On occasion, I’ve had a couple of town halls, and I’ve had people that are pro-Gaza that come up and berate me for this and berate me for that because of Israel and all,” Cohen told JI. “They would naturally be inclined to be for Justin Pearson — and I imagine he’d be likely inclined to support their position.”

But Cohen, who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, countered that Pearson “should never be against the sale of weapons” because “the war is not just against Hamas,” as Israel continues to face active threats from Iran and its proxies in Lebanon and Yemen. He said he had recently returned from a House delegation to Lebanon and concluded that Hezbollah is a “possible force that could come back again,” while predicting Iran “will take another shot at Israel.”

Despite their differences, Cohen said he preferred that Israel would not be a major source of division in the race, especially as the ceasefire deal goes into effect and hostages are set to be released. “It would be an issue locally if the war was still going on,” said Cohen, who welcomed the agreement in a statement last week. “Hopefully that issue is going to go away,” he added, expressing optimism that the war was ending.

Unlike other races in which pro-Israel Democrats have been targeted from their left, the matchup between Cohen and Pearson does not fit neatly in the typical framework for such intraparty contests, which have occurred with increasing regularity in recent cycles. Cohen, for example, is not endorsed by AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group whose political arm has actively engaged in primaries where divisions over Israel have fueled tension. 

He also said he was not familiar with Democratic Majority for Israel, whose super PAC has likewise intensely feuded with Justice Democrats on Middle East policy.

The congressman indicated that he is most closely aligned with the left-wing Israel advocacy group J Street, a frequent AIPAC foe that occasionally aligns with Justice Democrats, even as he said he does not have a negative relationship with AIPAC and joined one of its sponsored House delegations to Israel last year. 

Though he has not hesitated to criticize the Israeli government during his tenure in office, Cohen said that Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks had bolstered his commitment to supporting the world’s only Jewish state. “It’s just important to me to know that Israel always exists, that it’s needed to exist — and it’s still threatened,” he said. “We need to be aware of that.”

In a recent statement to JI, Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, said that Cohen “was one of JStreetPAC’s first-ever endorsees in 2008, and we have had a warm and close relationship ever since.”

“Steve exemplifies how one can support the state and people of Israel while simultaneously criticizing the Netanyahu government and the damage it has inflicted upon the U.S.-Israel relationship and the prospects for long-term peace,” added Ben-Ami, whose group has endorsed Cohen’s reelection bid.

Though he has not hesitated to criticize the Israeli government during his tenure in office, Cohen said that Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks had bolstered his commitment to supporting the world’s only Jewish state. “It’s just important to me to know that Israel always exists, that it’s needed to exist — and it’s still threatened,” he said. “We need to be aware of that.”

Speaking more broadly, Cohen said he anticipated that race and age would play a part in the primary, acknowledging that Pearson may hold a better grip on the activist zeitgeist that is driving challenges to the party’s older and more moderate incumbents.

But he rejected accusations that he is out of touch with the district’s needs and has failed to forcefully oppose the Trump administration, touting his votes to impeach the president and his successes in securing federal funding for the Memphis area. “I’m as effective as I’ve ever been,” Cohen said. “I’ve got a record on those issues,” he added, saying Pearson “does not.”

“There’s no question he’s smart,” Cohen said of Pearson, whom he supported when he ran for the state legislature. “He’s charismatic. He sounds like Dr. [Martin Luther] King when he speaks. He’s really impassioned.”

“His style is different from mine,” Cohen added. “I don’t quote the Bible, and I don’t jump around,” he said. “He jumps around when he speaks, like he’s on the pulpit or something.”

While Pearson said recently that Cohen had been “very condescending and very arrogant” when he called to inform the congressman of his challenge, Cohen disputed that characterization, claiming they had a relatively tame conversation on the evening before Pearson’s campaign launch.

“I said, ‘Justin, I understand you called,’” Cohen recounted of their exchange. “And he said, ‘Yes, I wanted to call you before I announce tomorrow.’ I said, ‘Oh, you’re gonna announce.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Did you not know I was running?’ He said, ‘Well, I’d heard it in some places, and I’d seen it in some papers.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m running.’ And he said, ‘Well, I’ll be running right there with you.’ And I said, ‘No, you’ll be running behind me.’ And he said, ‘No, I’ll be ahead of you.’ And that was the conversation.”

Cohen admitted that he was “not really happy about” Pearson’s decision to run, particularly given his past support for the state lawmaker. “You’re not going to say, ‘Good luck, may the best man win,’” he told JI, chuckling. “Maybe somebody would have said that, but not me.”

Michael Nelson, a political scientist at Rhodes College in Memphis, called Pearson a strong candidate but said Cohen would be hard to beat. “Cohen is going to have to take him seriously, but he’ll be in Congress now for what will have been 20 years by the end of this race, and he has fended off previous challenges from other truly prominent Black politicians in Memphis,” he told JI.

Still, Cohen, whose campaign had $1.8 million on hand as of late June, said he was largely undaunted by the challenge, citing past races where he handily prevailed over his rivals. He won nearly 74% of the vote in the 2024 primary — a figure consistent with his showings in previous races since he claimed the seat.

“I haven’t really had to work in a campaign since 2014,” he said, alluding to the last race he recalled facing a “significant opponent” like Pearson. “So I’m not that concerned, but I am concerned I’m going to have to do a lot more work than I had expected,” he said. “I had polio as a kid, and my leg is not as good as it has been and is better than it’s going to be,” he added to JI. “A campaign involves a lot of standing.”

Michael Nelson, a political scientist at Rhodes College in Memphis, called Pearson a strong candidate but said Cohen would be hard to beat. “Cohen is going to have to take him seriously, but he’ll be in Congress now for what will have been 20 years by the end of this race, and he has fended off previous challenges from other truly prominent Black politicians in Memphis,” he told JI.

“Although Pearson is not to be lightly regarded, I would be surprised if he is able to defeat Cohen,” Nelson said, noting that the congressman “has been really assiduous and successful in maintaining close contact with the local Black community as well as the business community, which means he never lacks for funds.”

Nelson also said he did not envision that Pearson would win “anything close to unanimous support” within the Black community. “He jumped the line in terms of local Black political leaders who have been waiting for Cohen to retire, and they’re not going to be happy about this,” he speculated last week.

Cohen, who once said he votes like a Black woman, told JI he has long enjoyed a “good, broad coalition” spanning “the range of age, religion, race, gender — it makes no difference.”

“I’ve always been progressive,” he insisted. “I’ve always been kind of the liberal voice of Tennessee.”