Key Takeaways
- • Congressman Steve Cohen has represented Tennessee's 9th District since 2006, serving 18 years in Congress after 24 years in the Tennessee State Senate, with a legislative focus on civil rights, education funding, and clean energy initiatives.
- • Cohen is the first Jewish person to represent Tennessee in Congress and has established a record as a progressive legislator who prioritized constituent interests over special interests throughout his political career.
- • The Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program, which Cohen championed after nearly two decades of advocacy, has distributed more than $6.5 billion to students in technical schools, colleges, and universities since its inception in 2004, making it one of the state's most successful education initiatives.
- • Cohen has secured substantial federal funding for Memphis and worked on infrastructure, transportation, judiciary, civil rights, and animal welfare policy at the federal level across multiple congressional committees.
- • Cohen, now 77 years old, has announced he will not seek reelection, concluding a career defined by overcoming personal obstacles—he lived with polio as a child—and translating those values of persistence into legislative advocacy for disadvantaged communities and education access.
Summary
Congressman Steve Cohen represents a political career spanning nearly five decades of public service in Tennessee, beginning with his 2006 election to the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 9th District, which includes Memphis. A fourth-generation Memphian, Cohen has served since January 4, 2007, and is registered for reelection in 2026, though recent statements indicate he will not seek another term. His career trajectory includes 24 years in the Tennessee State Senate prior to his congressional service, during which he established himself as a principled advocate willing to oppose prevailing political interests to champion legislative priorities aligned with constituent needs.
Cohen's most significant legislative achievement centers on the Tennessee Education Lottery, which he championed after nearly two decades of advocacy. His leadership in the referendum effort that created the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program in 2004 earned him the title "Father of the Tennessee Lottery." Since inception, the program has distributed more than $6.5 billion to students pursuing education in technical schools, colleges, and universities across Tennessee, establishing it as arguably the most successful education initiative in state history. This accomplishment underscores Cohen's persistence in pursuing long-term policy objectives despite initial opposition.
Throughout his congressional tenure, Cohen has focused on clean energy development, civil rights protections, and environmental justice, particularly opposing pipelines that would traverse disadvantaged communities. His legislative interests span transportation, judiciary matters, civil rights and liberties, medical research, and animal welfare. In the Tennessee State Senate, Cohen demonstrated similar conviction on issues ranging from gender equality to arts funding, and in 1984 drafted and passed a resolution establishing one of America's first state Holocaust Commissions—a commitment reflecting his identity as Tennessee's first Jewish congressional representative.
Cohen's personal background, shaped by childhood experience with polio, informed his legislative philosophy emphasizing persistence and determination in overcoming obstacles. His decision to file for office on the same day he registered to vote at age 21 marked the beginning of a career consistently characterized by advocacy for public rather than special interests. At 77 years old, Cohen's announced retirement from electoral politics concludes a tenure marked by securing federal resources for Memphis and advancing progressive policy objectives at the federal level across multiple jurisdictions.
Cohen's most significant legislative achievement centers on the Tennessee Education Lottery, which he championed after nearly two decades of advocacy. His leadership in the referendum effort that created the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program in 2004 earned him the title "Father of the Tennessee Lottery." Since inception, the program has distributed more than $6.5 billion to students pursuing education in technical schools, colleges, and universities across Tennessee, establishing it as arguably the most successful education initiative in state history. This accomplishment underscores Cohen's persistence in pursuing long-term policy objectives despite initial opposition.
Throughout his congressional tenure, Cohen has focused on clean energy development, civil rights protections, and environmental justice, particularly opposing pipelines that would traverse disadvantaged communities. His legislative interests span transportation, judiciary matters, civil rights and liberties, medical research, and animal welfare. In the Tennessee State Senate, Cohen demonstrated similar conviction on issues ranging from gender equality to arts funding, and in 1984 drafted and passed a resolution establishing one of America's first state Holocaust Commissions—a commitment reflecting his identity as Tennessee's first Jewish congressional representative.
Cohen's personal background, shaped by childhood experience with polio, informed his legislative philosophy emphasizing persistence and determination in overcoming obstacles. His decision to file for office on the same day he registered to vote at age 21 marked the beginning of a career consistently characterized by advocacy for public rather than special interests. At 77 years old, Cohen's announced retirement from electoral politics concludes a tenure marked by securing federal resources for Memphis and advancing progressive policy objectives at the federal level across multiple jurisdictions.
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