Rep. Steve Cohen is the only Democratic member of Congress from Tennessee, and one of an ever-dwindling number of Democrats who represent Southern states. But the biggest threat to Cohen’s re-election next year might not come from a Republican opponent or from GOP redistricting. It comes from within his own party. Cohen has now been targeted by a high-profile primary challenger from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.

Cohen says that progressives have misfired in their decision to challenge him. However it ends, this impending primary battle highlights raw divisions within the Democratic coalition, more than a year out from the 2026 midterms.

Last week, Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson, who became nationally famous as one of the “Tennessee Three,” announced that he would challeng

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