W. W. Herenton - 2010 Democratic Primary

2010 Democratic Primary

In 2010, Herenton announced that he would run against Congressman Steve Cohen in the Democratic Primary for Tennessee's 9th congressional district. The 9th is a heavily Democratic, black-majority district, and the Democratic primary has historically been the real contest.

In September 2009, Herenton drew controversy when he stated in a radio interview that Congressman Steve Cohen "really does not think very much of African-Americans" and that "’s played the black community well.” In addition, Herenton's campaign manager Sidney Chism told the New York Times that the Memphis-area congressional seat Cohen holds "was set aside for people who look like me. It wasn't set aside for a Jew or a Christian. It was set aside so that blacks could have representation." The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) criticized Herenton for these remarks, stating that his comments were "unacceptable in a Democratic primary or anywhere in our political discourse."

Despite Herenton's attempts to isolate Cohen from the African-American voting demographic, Cohen received endorsements from both President Barack Obama and the Congressional Black Caucus. Cohen won the Democratic primary election, while Herenton only gained 20% of the vote.