Overview and Live Results: Tennessee Primary

Tennessee holds its primary Thursday, giving us a second primary day this week. The Arizona primary was Tuesday; two of the more interesting contests there remain uncalled as of the publication time of this article.

The remaining 16 states will hold their contests between next Tuesday and September 10.^{1 1}49 states will have held a primary. Louisiana has a unique system, with no nominees determined prior to a November 5 all-party primary. A candidate can win an election that day by getting a majority of the vote, otherwise there is a top two runoff.

Tennessee Primary

Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. The state is divided between the Eastern and Central Time Zones. As all polling places close simultaneously, locations observing Central Time close at 7:00 PM local time.

The most interesting contests look to be the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, and the GOP nomination fight in the 5th congressional district. All Tennessee Primary Results >>

U.S. Senate

Republican Primary

Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn is seeking a second term. She has a nominal primary challenge. 

Democratic Primary

Winning a second term in 1990, former Vice President Al Gore was the last Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee. Despite long odds for that to change this year, a field of four Democrats is vying to challenge Blackburn.

The frontrunner is state Rep. Gloria Johnson, who gained a national profile as a member of the "Tennessee Three" after a 2023 school shooting in Nashville.

Also on the ballot is Marquita Bradshaw, who was the party's nominee in 2020, losing to Republican Bill Hagerty.

U.S. House

District 5 (Republican)

Republicans flipped this district in 2022 after it was moved significantly to the right in post-Census redistricting. Andy Ogles emerged from a nine-candidate primary, and won the general election by a 14% margin.

Ogles largest hurdle to reelection may well be this primary. He has drawn an unexpectedly strong challenger in Nashville Metro Council member Courtney Johnston. She has outraised Ogles, who, for his part, has come under scrutiny for his campaign finances. 

Upcoming Elections and Events

Down-ballot primaries will continue through early September. The remaining ones are listed below, along with other contests we'll be tracking during that period.

• August 6
  • Kansas Primary
  • Michigan Primary
  • Missouri Primary
  • Washington Top-Two Primary
• August 10
  • Hawaii Primary
  • Hawaii State Senate District 5 (Special Primary)
  • Honolulu Mayor (Primary)
• August 13
  • Connecticut Primary
  • Minnesota Primary
  • Vermont Primary
  • Wisconsin Primary
  • Wisconsin U.S. House District 8 Special Primary
  • Minnesota State Senate District 45 Special Primary
• August 19-22
  • Democratic National Convention
• August 20
  • Alaska Top-Four Primary
  • Florida Primary
  • Wyoming Primary
• August 27
  • Oklahoma Primary Runoffs
• September 3
  • Massachusetts Primary
• September 10
  • Delaware Primary
  • New Hampshire Primary
  • Rhode Island Primary