Justin Pearson wins Democratic primary for Tennessee's redrawn 9th District

Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson won the Democratic primary in the Volunteer State’s newly redrawn 9th Congressional District on Thursday, besting state Sen. London Lamar to advance to the general election.

Pearson defeated Lamar by a 40-point margin, winning 64.9% of the vote to the state senator’s 24.9%, according to the Associated Press. Pearson took a chance on the federal congressional primary after he garnered national attention for his role as part of the “Tennessee Three,” the group of state lawmakers who were briefly expelled from the legislature over their gun violence protest on the chamber floor.