Midterm elections are quickly approaching!
While Mississippi’s federal primaries occurred in March of this year and its state elections are held on an odd-year basis, Tennessee’s state and federal election cycles align perfectly. Early voting is already underway for the Thursday, Aug. 6, primary election.
Here’s a little bit about what to expect when you wake up on Friday, August 7.
Tennessee Federal
We expect that the two most competitive primaries will be in the newly redrawn 5th Congressional District, which is currently held by Andy Ogles, and the newly redrawn 6th Congressional District, currently held by John Rose.
Congressman Andy Ogles has a formidable challenger in former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher. While Ogles has the power of incumbency, Hatcher has a significant fundraising advantage. Because this district was redrawn earlier this year, Hatcher may be able to use that fundraising advantage to better introduce himself to voters that may had not have heard of either candidate before the election season. It’s expected to be very close.
In the 6th District, John Rose is not running for the seat again, instead electing to challenge Senator Marsha Blackburn for the nomination for Governor. In his place are two main candidates: State Representative Johnny Garrett and former Congressman and former John Rose Chief of Staff Van Hilleary. This race is expected to be very close as well, with the candidates trading negative TV ads late in the race.
Tennessee State
Over on the state side, the aforementioned race for Governor was once regarded as fairly sleepy as Senator Blackburn had an astronomically large lead earlier in the year. We haven’t seen a reputable public poll in a while, but insiders believe that Blackburn has lost a bit of ground over the last few months. She’s still the overwhelming favorite of this amateur political oddsmaker, but could be one to watch. Congressman John Rose’s campaign has certainly turned up the intensity of attacks to differentiate between them, but State Representative Monty Fritts has definitely captured a small segment of the party’s base as well. It’s expected that Fritts will finish in third, but how distant and who his support pulls from could be key in the race’s overall margins.
As with many elections in this day and age, don’t be surprised if a couple of long time incumbents find themselves in close elections. We’re hearing that several committee chairmen in the General Assembly, especially in East Tennessee, were targeted and are in tough election fights.
And with Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally stepping down from his post at the end of the year, there is also a race underway for his position as President of the Senate. Majority Leader Jack Johnson and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Paul Bailey are vying for the position, whose election will take place later in November after the General Election has concluded.
Vote
As always, we encourage you to vote! Early voting in Tennessee is underway until Saturday, Aug. 1. Get sample ballots, polling locations and more from GoVoteTN.
