The 2016 Tennessee State Senate election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect 16 of the 33 seats for the Tennessee's State Senate. The elections coincided with the Presidential,

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

, and State House elections. The

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

s were held on August 4, 2016.

Retirements

Republicans

District 4 District 4 can refer to: * District 4, Düsseldorf, in Germany *District 4, Grand Bassa County, in Liberia *District 4 (Ho Chi Minh City), in Vietnam * District 4 (New York City Council), in the United States *IV District, Turku, in Finland * Ausse ...

Ron Ramsey Ronald Lynn Ramsey (; born November 20, 1955) is an American auctioneer, politician, and lobbyist, who served as the 49th lieutenant governor of Tennessee and speaker of the State Senate from 2007 to 2017. A Republican from Blountville in East ...

, lieutenant governor of Tennessee.

Predictions

Results summary

Closest race

Many of the senators running in this election ran unopposed. However, this race was the closest in the Senate election:

District 2

Republican primary

Candidates

* Doug Overbey, incumbent senator * Scott Williams, veteran and small business owner

General election

District 4

Republican primary

Candidates

* John Paul Blevins * Neal Kerney, veteran and small business owner *

Jon Lundberg Jon Lundberg (born June 26, 1961 in Royal Oak, Michigan) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee State Senate for the 4th district. He was first elected to the 105th Tennessee General Assembly (2007–2008). He serves a ...

, state representative for the

1st district The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Inn ...

Tony Shipley Tony Shipley (born August 23, 1953) is a former State Representative for the Tennessee House of Representatives 2nd District in Sullivan County. Born in Blountville, Tennessee, Shipley is a graduate of Sullivan Central High School and also a 19 ...

, state representative for the 2nd district

Declined

* Ron Ramsey, incumbent senator and Speaker of the Senate (retiring)

General election

District 6

Republican primary

Candidates

Becky Duncan Massey Becky Duncan Massey is a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate for the 6th district, encompassing Knoxville and Knox County. Biography Early life and education Becky Duncan Massey was born on January 2, 1955. Her father was John Duncan, ...

, incumbent senator

General election

District 8

Republican primary

* Frank Niceley, incumbent senator

General election

District 10

Republican primary

Candidates

Todd Gardenhire Todd Gardenhire (born May 7, 1948) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate representing District 10 since January 8, 2013. Education Gardenhire earned his B.S. in business administration from the University o ...

, incumbent senator

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Ty O'Grady, entrepreneur and college professor * Khristy Wilkinson * Nick Wilkinson, director of the

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

Office of Economic Development

General election

District 12

Republican primary

Candidates

Ken Yager Ken Yager (born January 5, 1947) is a Republican politician who is currently serving as a State Senator in Tennessee, for District 12. Yager was first elected to this position in 2008 and represents the people in the counties of District 12, w ...

, incumbent senator

General election

District 14

Republican primary

Candidates

* Jim Tracy, incumbent senator * Matt Randolph, retail manager * Steve Lane, teacher

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Gayle Jordan, attorney

General election

District 16

Republican primary

Candidates

Janice Bowling Janice Bowling is an American politician in Tennessee and senator for Tennessee's 16th State Senate district. Bowling is a Republican. Bowling has been a public official and community activist in her hometown of Tullahoma, Tennessee. Political ...

, incumbent senator * Michael Shane Wilcher, member of the Warren County Commission from the 3rd district

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Mike Winton, businessman * Alice Demetreon, retired corrections officer

General election

District 18

Republican primary

Candidates

Ferrell Haile Ferrell Haile is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate representing District 18 since January 8, 2013. Haile previously served from his appointment November 22, 2010, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation o ...

, incumbent senator

General election

District 20

Republican primary

Candidates

Steven Dickerson Steven Dickerson is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Tennessee Senate, representing District 20 from January 8, 2013 until November 3, 2020. Education Dickerson earned his BA in history from Sewanee: The University ...

, incumbent senator * Ron McDow,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

delegate at the

2016 Republican National Convention The 2016 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2016, at Quicken Loa ...

Democratic primary

Candidates

* Erin Coleman, attorney

General election

District 22

Republican primary

Candidates

* Mark Green, incumbent senator * Lori L. Smith, small business owner, Clarksville fencing

Democratic primary

Candidates

* David L. Cutting, retired architectural engineer and small business owner

General election

District 24

Republican primary

Candidates

* John Stevens, incumbent senator

General election

District 26

Republican primary

Candidates

Dolores Gresham Dolores Gresham (born July 16, 1942) is a Republican politician from Tennessee. She was elected to the Tennessee Senate in the 2008 elections after having served three terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Her Senate District 26 encompas ...

, incumbent senator * Bob Shutt, mayor of

Savannah, Tennessee Savannah is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,213 at the 2020 census. Savannah is located along the east side of the Tennessee River. Savannah hosted the NAIA college football nationa ...

General election

District 28

Republican primary

Candidates

Joey Hensley Joey Hensley (born July 28, 1955) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate representing District 28 since January 8, 2013. Hensley served consecutively in the Tennessee General Assembly from January 2003 until J ...

, incumbent senator

Independent candidate

* Joey Norman, firefighter

General election

District 30

Democratic primary

Candidates

Sara Kyle Sara Peery Kyle (born October 21, 1952) is an American attorney and politician, and currently represents the 30th district in the Tennessee Senate. She became the second woman to elected to statewide office in Tennessee when she won the race fo ...

, incumbent senator *

Beverly Marrero Beverly Robison Marrero (born January 23, 1939) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Tennessee Senate District 30, which is a part of Shelby County. She was first elected to the 103rd General Assembly in the House by-electioa ...

, former 30th district senator

General election

District 32

Republican primary

Candidates

* Mark Norris, incumbent senator

General election

References

{{Reflist

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue reg ...

Tennessee Senate elections