Elections in

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

are held to fill various local, state, and federal seats.

Special elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Statewide

legislative referral A legislative referral (or legislative referendum) is a referendum in which a legislature puts proposed legislation up for popular vote. This may either be voluntarily or, as is the case in many countries for a constitutional amendment, as a ma ...

s and

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

s may also be on the ballot in some elections. Tennessee is one of thirteen states that holds its

presidential primaries Each of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five territories of the United States holds either primary elections or caucuses to help nominate individual candidates for president of the United States. This process is designed t ...

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominatin ...

. Tennessee does not require voters to declare a party affiliation when registering. The state is one of eight states that require voters to present a form of

photo identification Photo identification or photo ID is an identity document that includes a photograph of the holder, usually only their face. The most commonly accepted forms of photo ID are those issued by government authorities, such as driver's licenses, ident ...

. In a 2020 study, Tennessee was ranked as the 5th hardest state for citizens to vote in. Between the end of the Civil War and the mid-20th century, Tennessee was part of the Democratic

Solid South The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...

, but had the largest Republican minority of any former Confederate state. During this time, East Tennessee was heavily Republican and the western two thirds mostly voted Democratic, with the latter dominating the state. This division was related to the state's pattern of Unionist and Confederate loyalism during the Civil War. Tennessee's politics are currently dominated by the Republican Party. Republicans currently hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats, a majority of Congressional seats, and the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

. Democratic strength is largely concentrated in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Memphis, and parts of

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, and Clarksville. Some

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

an areas of Nashville and Memphis also contain significant Democratic minorities.

Presidential

List of presidential elections in Tennessee from 1824–present.

Presidential primaries

Republican primary

* 2000 Tennessee Republican presidential primary * 2004 Tennessee Republican presidential primary * 2008 Tennessee Republican presidential primary * 2012 Tennessee Republican presidential primary * 2016 Tennessee Republican presidential primary * 2020 Tennessee Republican presidential primary * 2024 Tennessee Republican presidential primary

Democratic primary

* 2000 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary * 2004 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary * 2008 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary * 2012 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary * 2016 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary * 2020 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary * 2024 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary

National legislative

List of national legislative elections in Tennessee from 2000–present.

Senate elections

* 2000 United States Senate election in Tennessee * 2002 United States Senate election in Tennessee * 2006 United States Senate election in Tennessee * 2008 United States Senate election in Tennessee * 2012 United States Senate election in Tennessee * 2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee * 2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee * 2020 United States Senate election in Tennessee * 2024 United States Senate election in Tennessee * 2026 United States Senate election in Tennessee

House of Representatives elections

Gubernatorial

List of gubernatorial elections in Tennessee from 2002–present. * 2002 Tennessee gubernatorial election * 2006 Tennessee gubernatorial election * 2010 Tennessee gubernatorial election * 2014 Tennessee gubernatorial election * 2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election * 2022 Tennessee gubernatorial election * 2026 Tennessee gubernatorial election

State legislative

State Senate elections

* 2008 Tennessee Senate election * 2010 Tennessee Senate election * 2012 Tennessee Senate election * 2014 Tennessee Senate election * 2016 Tennessee Senate election * 2018 Tennessee Senate election * 2020 Tennessee Senate election * 2022 Tennessee Senate election * 2024 Tennessee Senate election

State House elections

* 2008 Tennessee House of Representatives election * 2010 Tennessee House of Representatives election * 2012 Tennessee House of Representatives election * 2014 Tennessee House of Representatives election * 2016 Tennessee House of Representatives election * 2018 Tennessee House of Representatives election * 2020 Tennessee House of Representatives election * 2022 Tennessee House of Representatives election *

2024 Tennessee House of Representatives election The 2024 Tennessee House of Representatives election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect 99 seats for the Tennessee House of Representatives. The elections coincided with the 2024 United States presidential election in Tennessee, Presidentia ...

Ballot propositions

* 2006 Tennessee Marriage Protection Amendment * 2014 Tennessee Amendment 1 * 2022 Tennessee Amendment 1 * 2022 Tennessee Amendment 3

Local elections

Davidson County elections

Nashville Mayoral elections * 2007 Nashville mayoral election * 2011 Nashville mayoral election * 2015 Nashville mayoral election * 2018 Nashville mayoral special election *

2019 Nashville mayoral election The 2019 Nashville mayoral election took place on August 1, 2019, to elect the List of mayors of Nashville, Tennessee, mayor of Nashville, Tennessee. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Mayor David Briley, who succeeded Meg ...

* 2023 Nashville mayoral election Nashville measures *

Nashville Charter Amendment 1 Nashville Charter Amendment 1 of 2009 (also known as the Nashville English Only Amendment or Nashville English First Amendment) was a proposed amendment to the charter of Nashville, Tennessee which, if passed, would have restricted the use of for ...

Let's Move Nashville Let's Move Nashville was a local referendum in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 1, 2018, that would have funded the construction of a mass transit system under the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority in Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson Cou ...

Hamilton County elections

Countywide elections * 2018 Hamilton County, Tennessee mayoral election * 2022 Hamilton County, Tennessee mayoral election * 2026 Hamilton County, Tennessee mayoral election Chattanooga elections * 2005 Chattanooga mayoral election * 2009 Chattanooga mayoral election * 2013 Chattanooga mayoral election * 2017 Chattanooga mayoral election * 2021 Chattanooga mayoral election * 2025 Chattanooga mayoral election

Knox County elections

Countywide elections * 2010 Knox County, Tennessee mayoral election * 2014 Knox County, Tennessee mayoral election * 2018 Knox County, Tennessee mayoral election * 2022 Knox County, Tennessee mayoral election * 2026 Knox County, Tennessee mayoral election Knoxville elections * 2003 Knoxville mayoral election * 2007 Knoxville mayoral election * 2011 Knoxville mayoral election * 2015 Knoxville mayoral election * 2019 Knoxville mayoral Election * 2023 Knoxville mayoral election

Montgomery County elections

* 2006 Clarksville mayoral election * 2010 Clarksville mayoral election * 2014 Clarksville mayoral election * 2018 Clarksville mayoral election * 2022 Clarksville mayoral election

Madison County elections

* 2015 Jackson, Tennessee mayoral election * 2019 Jackson, Tennessee mayoral election * 2023 Jackson, Tennessee mayoral election

Rutherford County elections

* 2014 Murfreesboro mayoral election * 2018 Murfreesboro mayoral election * 2022 Murfreesboro mayoral election

Shelby County elections

Countywide elections

* 2010 Shelby County, Tennessee mayoral election * 2014 Shelby County, Tennessee mayoral election * 2018 Shelby County, Tennessee mayoral election * 2022 Shelby County, Tennessee mayoral election * 2026 Shelby County, Tennessee mayoral election

Memphis elections

* 2011 Memphis mayoral election * 2015 Memphis mayoral election * 2019 Memphis mayoral election * 2023 Memphis mayoral election

Elections by year

* 2000 Tennessee elections * 2002 Tennessee elections * 2004 Tennessee elections * 2006 Tennessee elections * 2008 Tennessee elections * 2010 Tennessee elections * 2012 Tennessee elections * 2014 Tennessee elections * 2016 Tennessee elections *

2018 Tennessee elections Tennessee state elections in 2018 were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Partisan primary, Primary elections for the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, Governor of Tennessee, governorship, Tennessee Senate, Tennessee ...

2020 Tennessee elections Tennessee state elections in 2020 were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Partisan primary, Primary elections for the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, Tennessee Senate, and Tennessee House of Representatives, as wel ...

2022 Tennessee elections Tennessee state elections in 2022 were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Partisan primary, Primary elections for the United States House of Representatives, Governor of Tennessee, governorship, Tennessee Senate, and Tennessee House of Repres ...

2024 Tennessee elections Tennessee state elections in 2024 were held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Partisan primary, Primary elections for the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, Tennessee Senate, and Tennessee House of Representatives, as ...

2026 Tennessee elections Tennessee state elections in 2026 will be held on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Partisan primary, Primary elections for the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, Governor of Tennessee, governorship, Tennessee Senate, Tenn ...

References

Works cited

External links

* * * * (State affiliate of the U.S.

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

) * {{Tennessee Government of Tennessee Political events in Tennessee Tennessee politics-related lists