NASHVILLE (AP) — A community organizer is the first Democrat to announce a run in any of the three new congressional districts created by a Republican map that carved up Nashville to extend the GOP's steep advantage in the state.

Odessa Kelly announced her campaign against 7th District incumbent Rep. Mark Green in a video Tuesday, saying the way Republicans redrew the map represents "more than gerrymandering."

"This is what racism looks like when it's not kneeling on George Floyd's neck," she says in the video.

About 37% of Tennesseans voted for President Joe Biden, but Democratic U.S. House representation could drop to about 11% in the state under the new map, which was drawn to increase the likelihood that Republicans will gain another House seat.

The new map promises an 8-1 Republican advantage, assuming Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen wins reelection in his Memphis district, which remained largely intact.

Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper of Nashville decided not to seek reelection, declaring he couldn't win in any of the new districts that carefully carved up areas of the city where Black people and other likely Democratic voters live, while extending deep into Republican suburbs and rural areas.

Kelly, who is gay and Black, is the co-founder and executive director of Stand Up Nashville, a coalition made up of community organizers and labor unions. Before the redistricting split, Kelly had announced a primary challenge against Cooper, landing support of the progressive Justice Democrats group.

In her video Tuesday, Kelly said that people want "universal health care, free day care, less prisons, better jobs and affordable housing."

Kelly plans to move into the 7th District and currently lives in the 6th District not far from where the two split in Nashville, according to a campaign spokesperson. U.S. House candidates are not required to live in the district in which they run, but need to be an "inhabitant" of the state when they are elected.

The new 7th District promises a Republican majority by extending through 14 counties, including Montgomery County where Clarksville is located and the majority Black North Nashville neighborhood. Its voters favored former President Donald Trump over Biden by 15 percentage points in 2020. The GOP also gave the 7th the largest share of Black people among the three Nashville seats, at 16% of the district.

In the 2018 U.S. Senate race, the new district's voters gave a 1 point edge to GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn over former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, who had the added advantage of having served as Nashville's mayor.

Green, who served as an Army surgeon and is from Montgomery County, has attacked Democrats on topics ranging from COVID-19 pandemic restrictions to immigration, saying the opposing party will "stop at nothing to destroy our great country" and blasting "Bernie Sanders-inspired socialist policies."

"The policies that help our rural communities are also the ones that will truly help the inner city," Green said in a statement Tuesday after Kelly's announcement.

Green entered 2022 with $458,700 in his campaign account. Kelly had $163,300 to start the year.

A slew of Republicans have already announced their plans to run for the 5th District, which will be an open seat after Cooper's retirement.

They include former Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell, former U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, video producer Robby Starbuck, small business owner Baxter Lee and retired National Guard Brig. Gen. Kurt Winstead. Trump outpaced Biden in the district by a 12-point margin in 2020, while Blackburn and Bredesen were at a virtual tie for Senate there in 2018.

In the 6th District, Republican U.S. Rep. John Rose of Cookeville is running for another term. Trump topped Biden in the district by 30 points, and Blackburn had an 11-point Senate race edge over Bredesen there.