On the Ballot: 3 Races to Watch as Tennessee Voters Head to the Polls

Tennessee voters are heading to the polls on Thursday for primary elections that will decide who runs in some big races this fall. The state's political map was recently redrawn to help Republicans win more seats. That change pushed out the only Democrat in Tennessee's nine-member House group. Three races in particular are worth watching closely.

Tennessee got pulled into a national fight over how voting districts are drawn. State lawmakers cancelled a 56-year-old rule that stopped them from redrawing district lines in the middle of a decade. They did this partly because President Trump wanted Republican-led states to strengthen their advantage before the midterm elections. The new map split up Tennessee's only majority-Black voting district, which forced the only Democrat in the state's House group to retire.

The first big race is in the 5th Congressional District, which is a strongly Republican area. President Trump has endorsed Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican who already holds the seat. Ogles is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a right-wing group, and has voted with Trump 100 percent of the time. Because of redistricting, his district was also made even more Republican-friendly, giving him extra advantages going into the primary.

However, Tennessee's Governor Bill Lee surprised many people by backing a different candidate named Charlie Hatcher. Hatcher used to work in Lee's government as the state agriculture commissioner. Lee called Hatcher a longtime friend and said he has supported Trump since the very beginning. Hatcher posted a video of Lee's endorsement on Facebook to help spread the word.

Trump's support matters a lot in Tennessee, since he won the state by large margins in all three of his presidential campaigns. But a poll run by Hatcher's own team showed Ogles leading by only 4 percentage points, which is closer than many people expected. It is still unclear whether the governor's support for Hatcher will be enough to change the outcome.

Rep. Steve Cohen is the only Democrat currently serving in Tennessee's House group. He represented the 9th Congressional District, which is centered in Memphis and has a majority-Black population. But after redistricting turned his district into a strongly Republican area, Cohen decided to retire after nearly 20 years in Congress. That opened the door for a crowded field of candidates from both parties.

On the Republican side, Trump has endorsed state Senator Brent Taylor. Taylor is running against several other Republicans, including state Senator Todd Warner, retired U.S. Army Sergeant Jeremy Thompson, and Charlotte Bergmann, who ran against Cohen four times before. Each candidate is working hard to earn Republican voters' trust before the primary.

On the Democratic side, state Representative Justin Pearson is running for the seat. The 31-year-old originally planned to challenge Cohen in the old district, where Democrats had a big advantage. But now the district leans heavily Republican — Trump won it with 60 percent of the vote in 2024. Pearson is still in the race, but he faces a much harder road than he expected.

Senator Marsha Blackburn, one of Tennessee's two U.S. senators, wants to leave Washington and become the state's next governor. The current governor, Bill Lee, cannot run again because of term limits. Blackburn has long been considered the top choice for the seat, but the race has gotten more competitive. Representative John Rose and state Representative Monty Fritts are both gaining ground on her.

Recent polls have shown that Rose is closing the gap between himself and Blackburn. Her campaign pushed back by releasing its own numbers, arguing that her lead is safe. Trump has supported both Blackburn and Rose in past elections but has not picked a side in this governor's race. No matter who wins the Republican primary, the fall election will likely favor the GOP in such a deeply red state.