Tennessee’s primary election begins as Republicans seek to flip House seat historically held by Democrats

Several primary elections are held in Tennessee on Thursday as Republicans seek to flip a House seat that has historically been held by a Democrat after the state redrew its congressional map.

Also on Thursday’s ballot are Tennessee’s gubernatorial nominations. Incumbent Republican Governor Bill Lee, who has served as the state’s 50th governor since 2019, is running unopposed in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Although there hasn’t been a Democrat elected to statewide office in nearly 15 years, three candidates are facing each other in the Democratic gubernatorial primary race for a chance to lead the state. Those candidates are physician Jason Martin, Memphis council member JB Smiley Jr. and community advocate Carnita Atwater.

Heading into Thursday’s election, fundraising totals for candidates in the Democratic gubernatorial primary varied wildly. Martin had raised almost $650,000, Smiley had raised just over $200,000 and Atwater had raised just under $4,000.

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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee delivers his State of the State address in Nashville in January.
(AP/Mark Zaleski)

The primary races taking place in Tennessee to represent the state in Congress come after a GOP-dominated assembly split left-leaning Nashville into three congressional districts, which could make it possible to flip the seat from a Democrat to a Republican.

After the split, incumbent Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., who has represented the state’s 5th Congressional District since 2003, announced he would not seek re-election because he believed there was no way to win.

There are now nine Republican candidates in the race to represent the 5th District, including Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles, former state House Speaker Beth Harwell, retired Tennessee National Guard Brig. General Kurt Winstead, Geni Batchelor, Natisha Brooks, Jeff Beierlein and draft candidate Robby Starbuck.

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Representative Jim Cooper speaks at the Recording Academy District Advocate Day at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum on October 19, 2017 in Nashville.
(Jason Davis/WireImage for The Recording Academy via Getty)

State Sen. Heidi Campbell of Nashville is the only candidate running in the Democratic primary.

Five Republican lawmakers from Tennessee’s nine-member congressional delegation are running unopposed in the primary: 1st District Rep. Diana Harshbarger, 2nd District Rep. Tim Burchett, 4th District Rep. Scott DesJarlais, 6th District Rep. John Rose and 7th District Rep. Mark Green.

Incumbent Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, who has represented the state’s 9th Congressional District since 2007, along with 8th District GOP Rep. David Kustoff and 3rd District GOP Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, s ‘face opponents in the primaries.

Kustoff’s challengers include company owner Danny Bridger Jr., Air Force veteran Dean Clouse and Navy veteran Bob Hendry. Fleischmann faces a challenge from Navy veteran Sandy Casey.

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From left, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn. and Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn.
(Tom Williams and Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call Inc., Getty Images)

In the 7th District, Green faces a long-term challenge from far-left Democratic candidate Odessa Kelly, who is running unopposed in her primary.

Kelly is backed by Democrats for Justice, a left-wing organization backed by “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., dedicated to electing progressive Democrats to Congress. Kelly’s campaign has focused on economic inequality, criminal justice reform, “Medicare-for-All,” support for the Green New Deal, and calls for more restrictive gun control laws. Some suggest he could be the newest member of “The Squad” if he pulls off an unlikely win in the deep red district.

In the state’s Republican supermajority legislature, all 99 seats in the Tennessee state House are up for election this year. There are 15 open seats, most of which are held by Republicans. Twenty-one seats include contested Republican primaries and nine include contested Democratic primaries.

Some openings include the seat of former Speaker of the House Glen Casada, who was ousted from the top position in 2019 due to a series of scandals. Former GOP state Rep. Robin Smith resigned earlier this year after facing federal wire charges alleging she ran a political consulting scheme with Casada and her former boss cabinet, none of whom have been charged so far.

State Rep. David Byrd also will not seek re-election. The Republican has faced accusations from three women of sexual misconduct three decades ago when he was a high school teacher and her basketball coach. He was never charged, but two of the women accused Byrd of touching them inappropriately, and the third said Byrd tried to.

Byrd initially announced he would retire in 2020, but reversed course, arguing it was important to have an experienced lawmaker during the coronavirus pandemic.

State Capitol in Nashville, Tennessee
(Andrew Woodley/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Notably, state Rep. John Mark Windle has filed to run as an independent after being a registered Democrat for nearly three decades.

In the Senate, 17 of the 33 seats are on the ballot, four with contested Republican primaries and two with contested Democratic races. Three outgoing senators leave open seats: Republicans Brian Kelsey and Mike Bell, and Democrat Brenda Gilmore. Kelsey faces a federal indictment accused of violating federal campaign finance laws during his failed 2016 congressional campaign.

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All five Tennessee Supreme Court seats are up for eight-year retention elections in the August primary. The judges – Jeff Bivins, Sarah Campbell, Sharon Lee, Holly Kirby and Roger Page – are expected to approve the vote.

Polls will close in Tennessee at 7pm CT.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.