Former MSNBC host Joy Reid touched down in Memphis Monday to broadcast a special live edition of her show in support of Democratic congressional candidate Justin J. Pearson, turning a local campaign office into a stage for one of the most closely watched House races in the country. Reid is hosting her YouTube show live at 7 p.m. from Pearson's campaign headquarters, where she plans a fireside chat with voters both in the room and on the phone.
The visit, first reported by Action News 5, comes as Pearson, a Democratic state representative, squares off against Republican state Sen. Brent Taylor for Tennessee's newly drawn 9th Congressional District. It's an open seat: Congressman Steve Cohen announced he would not seek reelection in 2026, meaning the district will send a new representative to Washington for the first time since 2007, according to LocalMemphis.com.
Two State Lawmakers, One Reshaped District
Pearson currently represents Tennessee's District 86 in the state House, a seat he won in March 2023, while Taylor has served as the state senator for District 31 since taking office in November 2022, per the same LocalMemphis.com report. Pearson gained national attention in April 2023 when he was expelled from the Tennessee House after joining protests for gun-control measures following a mass shooting at a Nashville school, the outlet notes.
The district itself looks nothing like the old one. The newly redrawn 9th stretches across a huge swath of West and Middle Tennessee, pulling in parts of Shelby, Williamson, Maury and Rutherford counties, according to WSMV. That overhaul means both campaigns are introducing themselves to voters who never cast a ballot in the old 9th District, the station reports.
Platforms Split Sharply on Key Issues
Pearson has built his campaign around gun safety, environmental protection, ending poverty and healthcare for all, according to WKRN. His platform also calls for federal job programs, Medicare for All, gun-safety laws and a ban on congressional stock trading while lawmakers are in office, per LocalMemphis.com. Taylor, meanwhile, has aligned himself with President Donald Trump's America First agenda, emphasizing border security and reduced federal spending, the outlet notes.
Pearson has also leaned into an issue meant to cut across party lines: data centers. He's called for a 12-month moratorium on new data center construction to study the industry's environmental impact, WKRN reports. Reporting from MLK50 describes this as part of a broader strategy, opposing data centers alongside gun safety and affordability, aimed at appealing to voters across the political spectrum in a district Tennessee Republicans redrew in May with the intention of making it a safe Republican seat.
A Race With National Stakes
That redistricting effort hasn't stopped Democrats from investing. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced in August that it was adding Tennessee's 9th District to its list of seats in play for the November 2026 midterms, according to the Tennessee Lookout. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report still rates the district Solid Republican with a Republican-plus-9 lean, the Lookout notes, and the district voted for Trump by more than 20 points in 2024, per MLK50.
Polling has reflected that tilt. A September Hart Research poll had Pearson trailing Taylor 44% to 48%, according to MLK50's reporting. Both candidates emerged from crowded primaries in August: Taylor took just over 46% of the Republican vote and won Trump's endorsement, the Tennessee Lookout reports, while Pearson swept the Democratic field, with LocalMemphis.com putting his share at 65.7% and the Tennessee Lookout describing it as just under 65%. WSMV has called the contest the congressional race attracting the most national attention in Tennessee and across the country.
Money and a GOP Counter-Rally
Taylor has backed his campaign with personal resources, loaning it $1.5 million, according to ProPublica. He's also set to appear at a Republican get-out-the-vote rally in Franklin this week, though accounts differ on the date. Action News 5 reports the rally, which includes several other Republicans, falls on Wednesday, Oct. 28, while the Williamson Herald lists the Williamson County Republican Party co-hosting a rally with the Taylor and Charlie Hatcher congressional campaigns on Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Amruth Sports Bar in Franklin. The Williamson Herald reports the event will be headlined by U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, joined by other Republican members of Congress and candidates.
With Reid's broadcast pulling a national media spotlight onto Pearson's Memphis headquarters and Taylor's camp mobilizing supporters in Franklin, both campaigns are making their closing pitches in a district drawn to favor one party but watched closely by both.
