Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson, who rose to national prominence after his expulsion from the state House over a gun control protest launched a bid for Congress on Wednesday, challenging longtime Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen.

Pearson’s announcement is part of a larger trend of younger Democrats around the nation challenging older incumbents . Tennessee’s 9th District, which covers parts of Memphis and its surrounding suburbs, is a safe Democratic seat, so the primary next August will likely determine the district’s next House member.

“Now I am ready to fight for us in the United States Congress,” Pearson, 30, said in his campaign launch video . “The U.S. House of Representatives must be centered on us.”

Cohen, 76, is currently serving his 10th term in Congress and his fifth decad

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