Justice Democrats Back Pearson, Testing Tennessee’s Democratic Divide

National progressive groups are pouring early support into Memphis Rep. Justin Pearson, signaling a shift toward younger, activist-driven candidates — and away from establishment Democrats like Steve Cohen.

State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) has become the newest face of a national movement within the Democratic Party as progressive political action committees rally behind his challenge to veteran Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9).

The Justice Democrats, the same group that launched Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members of “The Squad,” officially endorsed Pearson last week and began fundraising on his behalf. The PAC described him as “a justice warrior and democracy champion” ready to bring “People Power” to Washington — language mirroring its past campaigns against older incumbents the group views as out of touch.

It’s the clearest sign yet that national progressive donors and operatives are again targeting Tennessee as fertile ground for generational change inside the Democratic Party.

National PACs turn their attention to Tennessee

The endorsement from Justice Democrats places Pearson among just three candidates nationwide receiving early backing in 2025. According to Axios and The Guardian, the youth-oriented organization Leaders We Deserve — founded by March for Our Lives activist David Hogg — is also preparing a seven-figure investment to boost Pearson’s bid. Together, the groups represent two of the most influential PACs shaping the progressive wing of House Democrats.

Their message is as ideological as it is generational: the belief that Democratic voters, especially younger ones, are ready to move beyond long-serving incumbents who they see as symbols of a party still too cautious and institutional.

Cohen, 76, was first elected to Congress in 2006 after two decades in the state Senate. A reliable liberal by voting record, he is nonetheless a product of the party’s establishment — and precisely the kind of figure the Justice Democrats were created to challenge.

A trend already visible in TN-7

Pearson’s rise mirrors what unfolded just one district away. In Tennessee’s 7th, Aftyn Behn, a 31-year-old Nashville lawmaker and former Indivisible organizer, won the Democratic primary earlier this month on a platform rejecting corporate and PAC money altogether. Behn’s campaign emphasizes grassroots fundraising, small donors, and youth mobilization — the same organizing model national progressive groups often amplify, even when they aren’t contributing directly.

While Behn does not take PAC funds, her candidacy has still benefited from the broader progressive infrastructure that supports activist candidates through national visibility, volunteer mobilization, and small-donor outreach. Groups such as Indivisible and allied online networks have highlighted her campaign as a model of movement-based organizing in a conservative state.

Though the 7th District leans Republican, Behn’s success in uniting younger Democrats and grassroots organizers demonstrates the same generational shift that Justice Democrats and other national PACs hope to replicate with Pearson in Memphis.

What this means for Tennessee Democrats

Pearson’s challenge is the first serious test in Tennessee of whether that same progressive infrastructure can unseat an entrenched Democrat rather than just energize new voters. Cohen’s longevity, relationships, and steady record on liberal priorities could still blunt the insurgency — but the enthusiasm around Pearson shows a party increasingly comfortable confronting its own hierarchy.

The Justice Democrats’ move also underscores how national groups are bypassing swing-district calculations to reshape the party’s internal balance from within its safest seats. For progressives, Memphis now fills the same role that Nashville did in 2022, when Justice Democrats endorsed community organizer Odessa Kelly in a primary against longtime Congressman Jim Cooper in the 5th District. Cooper retired before the election, but Kelly’s campaign marked the first time a national progressive PAC directly targeted a Tennessee Democrat.

The bigger picture

Across the country, the party’s activist left is now operating with coordinated infrastructure: Justice Democrats identifying targets, Leaders We Deserve supplying youth-oriented resources, and a constellation of grassroots networks amplifying candidates like Behn and Pearson.

That strategy may not yield immediate electoral gains in Tennessee, but it is redefining what kind of Democrat emerges from its primaries. For a state where Democratic politics have long been dominated by senior figures and cautious pragmatists, that alone marks a notable shift.