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2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 6, 2018, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican senator Bob Corker opted to retire instead of running for a third term. Republican U.S. representative Marsha Blackburn won the open seat, defeating former Democratic governor Phil Bredesen.
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The primaries took place on August 2, 2018, with Blackburn and Bredesen winning their respective party nominations.
Early in the campaign, Bob Corker said that Blackburn's opponent, Democrat Phil Bredesen, was "a very good mayor, a very good governor, a very good businessperson", that he had "real appeal" and "crossover appeal", and that the two of them had cooperated well over the years. However, Corker said he would vote for Blackburn and donate to her campaign, and questioned whether Bredesen would be able to win a Senate seat in a red state like Tennessee.[2][3] After Corker's praise for Bredesen, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Corker that such comments could cost the Republican Party its Senate majority.[3] Shortly after Corker's comments, Trump tweeted an endorsement of Blackburn.[3]
In October 2018, Tennessean singer-songwriter Taylor Swift endorsed Bredesen. The endorsement was notable given that Swift had previously been publicly apolitical, but spoke out because Blackburn's voting record in Congress "appalled" and "terrified" her. Swift shared a link to the nonpartisan voter registration website Vote.org, which saw a significant spike in page views and new registrations. Donald Trump criticized Swift's endorsement.[4][5][6]
This election was expected to be among the most competitive Senate races in 2018, with CNN calling it the single most important Senate race in the country. Polls showed the race as close until the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh started, which many Tennesseans believed the Democratic Party handled poorly. This is believed to have mobilized Republican voters and cost Bredesen any chance of winning.[7] Bredesen also announced his support for Kavanaugh, which some believe cost him supporters.[8]
This was Tennessee's closest Senate race since 2006, with Blackburn winning by a 10.8% margin.
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Republican primary
Summarize
Perspective
Candidates
Nominee
- Marsha Blackburn, U.S. representative[9]
Eliminated in primary
- Aaron Pettigrew, truck driver[10]
Withdrawn
- Bob Corker, incumbent U.S. senator[11]
- Larry Crim, perennial candidate[12][13]
- Stephen Fincher, former U.S. representative[14]
- Andy Ogles, former director of the Tennessee chapter of Americans for Prosperity[15][16]
- Rolando Toyos, ophthalmologist and candidate for the Shelby County Commission in 2010[17]
Declined
- Mae Beavers, former state senator (formerly ran for governor)[18]
- Diane Black, U.S. representative (unsuccessfully ran for governor)[18]
- Randy Boyd, former commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development (unsuccessfully ran for governor)[18]
- Tim Burchett, Knox County Mayor (successfully ran for TN-02)[19][20]
- Joe Carr, former state representative, candidate for U.S. Senate in 2014 and candidate for TN-06 in 2016[21][22][23]
- Chuck Fleischmann, U.S. representative (successfully ran for re-election)[18]
- Mark Green, state senator (successfully ran for TN-07)[22][24]
- Beth Harwell, Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives (unsuccessfully ran for governor)[18]
- Bill Haslam, governor of Tennessee[25]
- David Kustoff, U.S. representative (successfully ran for re-election)[18]
- Bill Lee, businessman (successfully ran for governor)[18]
- Peyton Manning, retired football player[26][27]
- Randy McNally, lieutenant governor of Tennessee[18]
- Ron Ramsey, former lieutenant governor and candidate for governor in 2010[18]
Speculation surrounding Senator Corker
On September 26, 2017, Republican senator Bob Corker announced that he would not seek another term in 2018.[28] Many called on Corker to reverse his decision to retire.[who?] Former U.S. representative Fincher dropped out of the race, calling on Corker to jump back in and challenge U.S. representative Blackburn for the GOP nomination. Fincher said in a statement that the GOP should unite "behind a candidate who can win" the general election. Blackburn said she would remain in the race even if Corker reversed his decision. Amid the speculation about Corker's decision, many of Tennessee's Republican politicians, including many in the Tennessee General Assembly, reiterated their support for Blackburn.[29] Corker's chief of staff announced on February 27, 2018, that Corker would stick with his plan to retire.[30]
Endorsements
Polling
Hypothetical polling
Results
Blackburn
- Blackburn—70–80%
- Blackburn—80–90%
- Blackburn—90%
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Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Phil Bredesen, former governor of Tennessee and former mayor of Nashville[38]
Eliminated in primary
- Gary Davis[10]
- John Wolfe Jr.,[10] attorney and perennial candidate
Withdrawn
Declined
- Raumesh Akbari, state representative[41]
- Megan Barry, former mayor of Nashville[18]
- Andy Berke, mayor of Chattanooga[42]
- John Ray Clemmons, state representative[43]
- Jim Cooper, U.S. representative and nominee for U.S. Senate in 1994[18]
- Karl Dean, former mayor of Nashville (unsuccessfully ran for governor)[44][45][46]
- Craig Fitzhugh, minority leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives (unsuccessfully ran for governor)[41]
- Bill Freeman, businessman and candidate for mayor of Nashville in 2015[18][47]
- Lee Harris, Minority Leader of the Tennessee Senate[41]
- Tim McGraw, country musician, songwriter and actor[48]
- Jeff Yarbro, state senator[49][50]
Results
Bredesen
- Bredesen—80–90%
- Bredesen—>90%
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Independents
- Dean Hill, US Army veteran, ex-government,[clarification needed] business owner, realtor
General election
Summarize
Perspective
Predictions
Debates
- Complete video of debate, September 25, 2018
- Complete video of debate, October 10, 2018
Endorsements
Marsha Blackburn (R)
- U.S. executive branch officials
- Mike Pence, vice president of the United States[62]
- Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state[63]
- Donald Trump, president of the United States[64]
- U.S. senators
- Lamar Alexander, U.S. senator (R-TN)[65]
- John Boozman, U.S. senator (R-AR)[66]
- Tom Cotton, U.S. senator (R-AR)[67]
- Joni Ernst, U.S. senator (R-IA)[68]
- Deb Fischer, U.S. senator (R-NE)[69]
- Lindsey Graham, U.S. senator (R-SC)[70]
- David Perdue, U.S. senator (R-GA)[71]
- Marco Rubio, U.S. senator (R-FL)[72]
- Thom Tillis, U.S. senator (R-NC)[73]
- U.S. representatives
- Diane Black, U.S. representative (R-TN)[74]
- Stephen Fincher, former U.S. representative (R-TN)[75]
- David Kustoff, U.S. representative (R-TN)[76]
- Steve Scalise, U.S. representative and House Majority Whip (R-LA)[77]
- Governors
- Winfield Dunn, former governor of Tennessee[78]
- Bill Haslam, governor of Tennessee[79]
- Ron Ramsey, former lieutenant governor of Tennessee[80]
- Don Sundquist, former governor of Tennessee and former U.S. representative (R-TN)[81]
- Local and statewide politicians
- Paul Bailey, state senator[82]
- Mike Bell, state senator[82]
- Janice Bowling, state senator[82]
- Joe Carr, former state representative[23]
- Rusty Crowe, state senator[82]
- Mark Green, state senator[82]
- Dolores Gresham, state senator[82]
- Ferrell Haile, state senator[82]
- Jim Henry, former House Minority Leader[83]
- Joey Hensley, state senator[82]
- Jack Johnson, state senator[84]
- Brian Kelsey, state senator[82]
- Bill Ketron, state senator[82]
- William Lamberth, state representative[85]
- Jon Lundberg, state senator[82]
- Becky Duncan Massey, state senator[82]
- Randy McNally, state senator and Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee[86]
- Frank Niceley, state senator[82]
- Mark Pody, state senator[82]
- Jay Reedy, state representative[87]
- Kerry Roberts, state senator[82]
- John Stevens, state senator[82]
- Ken Yager, state senator[82]
- Jason Zachary, state representative[88]
- Individuals
- Randy Boyd, candidate for governor[79]
- Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action[89]
- Diamond and Silk, social media personalities[90]
- Lee Greenwood, country music artist[91]
- Art Laffer, economist[92]
- Tomi Lahren, political commentator[93]
- Bill Lee, businessman and candidate for governor[94]
- Ronna McDaniel, chairperson of the Republican National Committee[95]
- Candace Owens, communications director for Turning Point USA[96]
- Dave Ramsey, businessman and author[97]
- Michael W. Smith, musician[98]
- Eric Trump, son of President Donald Trump[99]
- Darrell Waltrip, former NASCAR driver[100]
- James Woods, actor[101]
- Chuck Woolery, game show host, talk show host, and musician[102]
- Organizations
- American Conservative Union[103]
- Citizens Against Government Waste[104]
- Citizens United[105]
- Club for Growth[106]
- Maggie's List[107]
- National Association of Home Builders[108]
- National Federation of Independent Business[109]
- National Right to Life[110]
- NRA Political Victory Fund[111]
- Senate Conservatives Fund[112]
- Students For Trump[113]
- Susan B. Anthony List[114]
- Tennessee Police Benevolent Association[115]
- Tennessee State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police[116]
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce[117]
Newspapers
Phil Bredesen (D)
- U.S. executive branch officials
- U.S. senators
- Tammy Duckworth, U.S. senator (D-IL)[120]
- Doug Jones, U.S senator (D-AL)[121]
- Jeff Merkley, U.S. senator (D-OR)[122]
- Brian Schatz, U.S. senator (D-HI)[123]
- Ron Wyden, U.S. senator (D-OR)[124]
- U.S. representatives
- Terri Sewell, U.S. representative (AL-7)[125]
- Individuals
- Ben Folds, musician[126]
- Jason Isbell, musician[126]
- James Mackler, former candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018 and veteran[127]
- Martin O'Malley, 61st governor of Maryland[128]
- Amy Schumer, actress[129]
- Amy Siskind, activist and writer[130]
- Taylor Swift, musician[131][n 1]
- Labor unions
- American Federation of Government Employees[133]
- Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council[134]
- United Automobile Workers[135]
- Organizations
- 314 Action[136]
- Humane Society Legislative Fund[137]
- League of Conservation Voters[138]
- Sierra Club[139]
- Newspapers
Fundraising
Polling
Hypothetical polling
with generic Republican and generic Democrat
with Bob Corker
with Stephen Fincher
with Clay Travis
with Bob Corker and generic Democrat
with Peyton Manning
Results
On November 6, 2018, Blackburn defeated Bredesen in the general election, carrying all but three counties, the largest number of counties ever won in an open senate election in Tennessee.[181] Although polls began to show the race in Blackburn's favor following the Kavanaugh hearings, Blackburn won by a larger margin than all but one poll showed.
By county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
By congressional district
Blackburn won seven of nine congressional districts.[184]
By Grand Division
Blackburn: 50–60% 60–70%
Bredesen: 50–60%
Blackburn won Middle and East Tennessee while Bredesen won West Tennessee, which Bob Corker carried last time.[185]
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See also
Notes
References
External links
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