A Jewish incumbent in Tennessee handily defeated a bid by a primary challenger after a campaign that featured charges of anti-Semitism.

Jewish incumbent Steve Cohen is seeking his second term in the 9th Congressional District, in Memphis. He defeated challenger Nikki Tinker, an African American lawyer, in the Democratic primary.

The Tinker campaign had posted an ad on YouTube charging that while Cohen visits “our churches, clapping his hands and tapping his feet … he’s the only senator who thought our kids shouldn’t be allowed to pray in school,” referring to a 1997 vote Cohen made as a state senator.

Another ad juxtaposed Cohen with a white-clad Ku Klux Klansman. Cohen is one of only two whites representing majority black districts in Congress. — jta