Former Shelby County Democratic Party Chairman Corey Strong is challenging U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen in the August Democratic primary.

Strong formally announced his campaign Friday, Feb. 2, ahead of Monday’s opening day to check out qualifying petitions to get on the August ballot.

The ballot features state and federal primaries for the Tennessee General Assembly, U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.

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Strong is campaigning on crime and economic opportunity.

“The violence we are seeing in Memphis is akin to what I have seen in other countries around the world — young people who are expressing their hopelessness through violence,” he said in the press release announcing his candidacy. “You can’t police your way out of this violence. The only solution is real opportunity.”

Cohen, D-Tenn., is seeking a tenth term in District 9, which two years ago changed to take in half of predominantly Republican Tipton County while retaining most of heavily Democratic Shelby County.

Strong challenged Cohen in the Democratic primary four years ago. Cohen won easily with 83.9% of the vote.

And Strong’s challenge in 2020 was similar in rhetoric to the new campaign.

“The violence we are seeing in Memphis is akin to what I have seen in other countries around the world — young people who are expressing their hopelessness through violence. You can’t police your way out of this violence. The only solution is real opportunity.”

Corey Strong

“The big economic decisions are made in D.C.,” Strong said in Friday’s announcement. “This district has every advantage any industry or federal department could want, including a motivated workforce.”

Cohen has touted his role in bringing tens of millions of dollars of federal funding to the city for critical economic development projects and public infrastructure.

He has also been among the most persistent and vocal critics of former President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill, both when Trump was president and as Trump attempts to get back to the White House.

Strong was critical of Cohen four years ago for being too combative, too partisan and not focused enough on business. In his Friday announcement, there is no criticism of Cohen and no mention of Trump or Republicans in general.

Strong was chairman of the local Democratic Party after the state’s party disbanded it in 2016 following years of dysfunction and infighting among factions.

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In the reorganized party, Strong fielded local candidates in every county race on the 2018 ballot.

The result was a Democratic sweep of every countywide office on the ballot after Republicans swept every countywide office in 2010 and every countywide office except Assessor in 2014.

Grab bag of election items

The last day to register to vote in the March 5 Tennessee presidential primaries is Monday, Feb. 5.

Shelby County has 590,998 voters, according to a Dec. 1 Shelby County Election Commission report.

Early voting in the presidential primaries is Feb. 14-Feb. 27.

In addition to the presidential primaries, the ballot features primaries for only one countywide office this year: General Sessions Court Clerk.

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Incumbent Clerk Joe Brown faces challenges in the Democratic primary from former Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer, former County Register Shelandra Ford and Rheunte Benson, a 30-year employee and supervisor in the clerk’s office.

That primary winner faces Republican Lisa Arnold, who is unopposed in the companion Republican primary.

Other matchups through the August primaries and into the November state and federal general elections are already taking shape.

In the only statewide race this year, incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn could have no challengers in the August GOP primary.

But in November she will face the winner of a Democratic primary that so far is among Knoxville state Senator Gloria Johnson and Memphians Marquita Bradshaw and Pamela Moses.

Clerk Joe Brown draws five challengers in March primaries

Bradshaw was the 2020 Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in the race Republican nominee Bill Hagerty won to succeed departing Republican Lamar Alexander.

In Shelby County races for the Tennessee Legislature:

• District 97 Republican state Rep. John Gillespie already has a potential Democratic challenger in Jesse Huseth, who declared his candidacy last year. Huseth is a business owner and former Shelby County Schools teacher.
• Noah Nordstrom, a high school Spanish teacher, announced earlier this month that he would run in the state House District 83 Democratic primary to challenge Republican incumbent Mark White.

Gillespie and White have drawn credible Democratic challengers in the last four years in districts where Democrats have a foothold but not a majority.

As a result, Republican leaders of the Legislature, including Speaker Cameron Sexton and Gov. Bill Lee, have campaigned in those districts on behalf of White and Gillespie.