won the Political Leadership Award from the Human Rights Campaign. When elected in 1982, Cohen was the first Jewish member to serve in the Tennessee Senate since 1958. U.S. House of Representatives Elections 1996 Cohen ran for the United States House of Representatives seat for the 9th district in 1996, when 22-year incumbent Harold Ford, Sr. announced his retirement. The then 26-year-old Harold Ford, Jr., the incumbent's son, was his opponent in the Democratic primary. Reflecting on the race, Cohen said, "I'd spent 14 years in the [state] Senate, had the experience, and didn't like the idea of [the seat] being handed down like an heirloom." Cohen lost the primary to Ford by 25 points. Noting that Ford, an African-American, did much better than Cohen in majority black precincts despite his inexperience, Cohen said, "It is impossible for a person who is not African American to get a large vote in the African American community... against a substantial candidate. The fact is, I am white, and it doesn't seem to matter what you do." Later, he admitted that his statement was "impolitic" but also noted that "race is still an important factor in voting." Cohen returned to the State Senate after the election. Tennessee state senators serve staggered four-year terms, and Cohen did not have to run for reelection to the Senate until 1998. 2006 In early April 2006, Cohen announced that he was again running for the 9th district seat; Ford was not running for reelection. Cohen was the first candidate in the race with significant name recognition outside the Memphis area, but had 14 opponents in the primary. The Commercial Appeal, Memphis's daily newspaper, endorsed Cohen in the race. The crowded primary was largely due to the district's demographics. The 9th is a heavily Democratic, black-majority district, and it was considered very likely that whoever won the primary would be the district's next representative. Cohen won the August 3 primary by a 4,000-vote margin, despite being outspent 2 to 1 by the runner-up. In fact, six Democrats raised more money than he did. He carried many of the district's predominantly black precincts by healthy margins. He faced Republican Mark White and independent Jake Ford (the younger brother of Harold Ford, Jr.) in the general election in November. Though the ninth district is heavily Democrat, Jake Ford was seen as a serious contender for the race because of his