Two former black Democratic lawmakers who were evicted by Republican colleagues in Tennessee say they want to be reappointed and then re-elected to their seats, following their impeachment over a House floor protest pushing for gun control measures in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting.

The Nashville metro council is likely to re-appoint Justin Jones to the seat at a specially convened Monday meeting. The Shelby County Commission plans to announce soon when it will meet to fill the vacancy left by Justin Pearson’s eviction. Similarly, Commissioners can reinstall Pearson, who is from Memphis.

Both former lawmakers told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that they want to return to their positions as lawmakers. Special elections for the seats to be determined will follow in the coming months.

The evictions have turned Tennessee into a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy. The former legislators have quickly attracted prominent supporters. President

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Biden spoke with them and Vice President Kamala Harris visited them in Nashville.

You know, we will continue to fight for our voters,” Jones said. “And one thing I want to say… is that this attack against us hurts all the people in our state. You know, even though it disproportionately impacts black and brown communities, it hurts poor whites. Their attack on democracy hurts us all.

In separate ballots on Thursday, the GOP supermajority evicted Jones and Pearson, a move that left about 140,000 voters in mostly black districts in Nashville and Memphis without representation in the House.

Pearson and Jones were expelled from school in retaliation for their role in the protest the week before, which came in the wake of a Nashville school shooting that killed six people, including three young students.

A third Democrat, Representative Gloria Johnson of Knoxville, was spared eviction by a margin of one vote. Johnson is white, sparking outrage over the different outcomes for the two young, black lawmakers. Republican lawmakers splitting their votes have cited Johnson’s points on the floor that her role in the protest was less, for example, that she did not speak into the megaphone.

Johnson has also suggested that race was likely a factor as to why Jones and Pearson were ousted but not them, telling reporters it may have had to do with the color of our skin.

Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton said that is a false narrative.

It’s too bad, she’s trying to put political racism into this, when there was nothing on it, Sexton told Fox News on Friday.

GOP leaders said the evictions had been used only a handful of times since the Civil War to avoid setting a precedent for lawmakers to tolerate disruptions to House proceedings through protest.

Pearson said the state house has been a toxic work environment.

It’s about us not belonging to the institution because they fear the changes happening in our society and the voices being raised, Pearson said on “Meet the Press.”