An Open Letter to My Congressman About Why Winning Isn’t the Same as Leading
Dear Congressman Steve Cohen,I’ve been voting for you since you first ran for Congress back in 2006. Before that, I watched you fight for the Tennessee Lottery for nearly twenty years in the State Senate – a fight that has now sent over $6.5 billion to Tennessee students. I’ve seen you bring hundreds of millions of dollars back to Memphis for everything from transit to sexual assault kit testing. You’ve been a consistent voice for civil rights, voting twice to impeach Trump, and Nancy Pelosi once called you the “conscience of the freshman class.”I still have my letter from your office I received after I called to ask you to impeach Trump, saying you were planning on it.
This letter isn’t about what you’ve done wrong. It’s about what you could do right.
You’re 76 years old. You’ve been in public service since filing to run for office on the same day you registered to vote at 21. That’s 55 years. You’ve served Memphis as a Shelby County Commissioner, spent 24 years in the State Senate, and now nearly 20 years in Congress. You cast the deciding vote to create The MED. You built the Big River Crossing. You helped create one of the first Holocaust Commissions in America. Your legislative record is one of the most impressive in Tennessee history.
And that’s precisely why I’m asking you to retire.
The Democratic Party is in the middle of a reckoning. Jerry Nadler just announced his retirement at 78, specifically citing the Biden situation as proof of the need for generational change. Pelosi stepped aside from leadership. Gary Peters, Tina Smith, Jeanne Shaheen, Dick Durbin – all retiring. Three House Democrats have died in office just this year. The pattern is clear, and voters are noticing.
Justin Pearson has announced he’s running against you. The 30-year-old state rep who got expelled from the Tennessee House for protesting gun violence and then got reinstated a week later. The guy who met with Kamala Harris and became a national symbol of resistance. Justice Democrats is backing him. David Hogg’s group just pledged a million dollars to his campaign.
You’ve beaten plenty of challengers before. Willie Herenton, the former mayor. You’ve won nine terms without losing a single precinct in any primary. But here’s the thing – beating Pearson isn’t the same as doing what’s best for Memphis or the Democratic Party.
Memphis’s 9th District is the only Democratic stronghold in Tennessee. It’s a safe blue seat. Whoever wins the primary wins the general. That means this isn’t about whether a Democrat holds the seat – it’s about which Democrat, and what message that sends.
The Democratic Party lost young voters in the last election. Gen Z men are trending Republican. The party has a messaging problem and a youth engagement problem, and one of the most visible ways to address both is to let younger leaders take the stage. Not because the older leaders failed – but because passing the torch while you’re still standing is more powerful than being pushed.
You’ve said you’re “not worried” about a primary challenge. That it would “be a mistake” for someone to run against you. I get it. After 55 years, why should you have to prove yourself again? But the question isn’t whether you can win. The question is whether winning is the right choice.
Every dollar spent on this primary is a dollar not spent on flipping Republican seats. Every negative ad between Democrats is a gift to the GOP. Every news cycle dominated by an intra-party fight is a news cycle not focused on Trump’s agenda.
You’ve earned the right to retire on your own terms. You could endorse Pearson or stay neutral. You could mentor him. You could shape the transition rather than resist it. That would be leadership too – maybe even more than staying and fighting.
Think about your legacy. The lottery scholarships. Regional One Health. The House resolution apologizing for slavery and segregation that you were instrumental in passing in 2008. The Big River Crossing. All the federal judges you helped get confirmed. The work on the Helsinki Commission. That’s what people should remember – not a bruising primary against a young activist that drains Democratic resources heading into 2026.
You overcame polio as a kid. You fought for the lottery for nearly two decades when everyone said it was impossible. You know how to fight. But you also know when a fight serves a purpose and when it doesn’t.
I’m asking you to consider a different kind of victory. The kind where you leave on your own terms, with your legacy intact, having helped build the next generation of Democratic leadership rather than standing in its way. That’s the Steve Cohen I’ve been proud to vote for all these years.
Memphis will always be grateful for what you’ve done. But Memphis also needs to look forward. And sometimes the most courageous thing a leader can do is know when to step aside.
With respect and appreciation for your service,A constituent who has been on your side for almost two decades.
Rachel