Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, is warning that far-left operatives are eyeing Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District as part of a broader national effort to expand the influence of the ‘Squad’ in Congress.
On Monday, State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), who announced his candidacy for the 9th District last week, challenged Democrat incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), was endorsed by the Justice Democrats, a progressive political action committee (PAC) launched by former staffers for Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT),
Pappert said the Justice Democrats PAC sees Pearson, who was expelled from the Tennessee General Assembly in 2023 after commandeering the Tennessee House Floor to demand gun control three days after the March 27 shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, as “one of their future members of the growing Squad.”
He went on to explain that Justice Democrats’ endorsement is part of a deliberate strategy by leftist radicals to oust entrenched establishment Democrats and replace them with younger, more ideologically extreme candidates.
“This is the same group that is behind AOC, Ilan Omar, Summer Lee – some of the most vocal, and, I guess you could just say, annoying members of the House of Representatives, and now, Justin Pearson is one of the three candidates they have endorsed for the 2025 various special elections across the country,” Pappert said on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
Pappert noted how the group is already actively fundraising for Pearson and promoting him as a future “Squad” member, citing his role in the 2023 gun control protest that briefly led to his expulsion.
“They sent out a fundraising letter for him just yesterday where they extol his actions during the gun control riot that led to his expulsion a couple years ago and cemented his status as a member of the ‘Tennessee Three’,” he said.
With regard to Cohen, Pappert said the incumbent may be vulnerable in his reelection even though he has held the seat since 2007.
Pappert pointed out how Cohen recently came under fire for mistakenly voting for a congressional resolution condemning antisemitism and the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which he later backtracked and apologized for.
Pappert argued that such missteps, combined with his age and perceived disconnect from his constituents, make him an easy target for a progressive insurgency.
“I think this is fertile territory for a far left radical Marxist like Justin Pearson to come in and say, ‘I am going to not only make all the far left votes that you want, but I’m going to go into Congress and I’m going to grandstand on your behalf as often as I can’,” Pappert said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “State Rep. Justin Pearson” by State Rep. Justin Pearson.
