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Tennessee Conservative News [By Olivia Lupia] –
Into the second week of early voting, turnout numbers across most of Tennessee appear to be much stronger than in past years, especially compared to the 2018 and 2022 midterm elections. But in some areas, the surges are being dominated by Democrats and not every county is seeing spikes, with one falling below 10% turnout thus far.
According to the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office, at the end of Saturday, July 25, day 8 of early voting, 321, 931 individuals had voted across the state. Compared to the first eight days of early voting in 2018, that equates to a 7.4% increase and, even more noticeable, a 42.61% increase from 2022.
And while most of the increased turnout appears to be from Republicans, roughly 200,000 to 100,000 Democrats, the Democrat Party of TN celebrated a local Democrat increase of 128% in Putnam County on day 5 of early voting compared to the same period in 2022.
That number has since dropped to about 115% and Putnam County Republican turnout has increased 146% from 2022 at the time of this writing, but those statistics still show a concerted effort to get voters to the polls, especially as both parties have been aggressively working to either close gaps or flip seats across the state.
“If conservatives get complacent, not even the Upper Cumberland is safe from a Blue takeover. Go Vote RED!” posted Putnam County resident and political commentator Connor Buckingham in response to Democrats’ enthusiasm.
Unsurprisingly, Davidson County Democrats continue to maintain a strong lead in early voting, accounting for about 66% of ballots cast compared to 34% in the Republican primary.
And while Republicans continue to have a strong showing overall, likely due to several competitive races on the primary ballot including those for governor, U.S. Senate and House seats, Tennessee General Assembly, and state executive committees, compared to around the same time of the 2018 primary, Republican early voting has increased by about 7% while Democrat early voting is up roughly 12%.
“Democratic voters have much more reason to vote,” said John Geer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University. “They have much more motivation to vote. We’ll have to see. I would not underestimate President Trump’s ability to rally the base, and the MAGA vote will probably still be decent. What I think they have to worry about is, in the General Election, both the Independent vote and their motivation to turn out to vote for Democrats versus Republicans, which could really help the Democrats.”
Meanwhile, one county seems to be lagging behind the rest, reporting only 9% turnout of total registered voters at the halfway point of early voting. Knox County reported 24,384 ballots cast as of Friday, July 24, though there are 268, 073 active registered voters in the county, equaling about 9.1% of registered voters casting a ballot so far for the August election.
Republican ballots have accounted for just over 67% of ballots cast, while Democrats have made up a little more than 31% of voters. Outside the Knoxville city limits, Republicans have dominated the share of votes cast, but in the city Democrats voters have led with roughly 55% of ballots cast compared to about 43% of Republicans.
But while turnout numbers may be on the lower end of total registered voters, the data from the Secretary of State shows that Knox County is still experiencing higher early voting turnout than both the 2018 and 2022 elections, with turnout up by almost 25% since 2018 and just over 76% compared to 2022.
Amongst Republicans, the turnout is up around 6.5% from 2018 and almost 75% from 2022, while Democrats have seen a much larger gain since 2018 at roughly 63.13% and about 72% versus 2022, indicating a marked increase that likely accounts for the Knoxville Democrats leading inside the city as the area faces continued growth.
And statewide, conservatives continue to express concerns about illegal crossover voting, especially as voters, candidates, and even elected officials have been caught red-handed broadcasting their own breaking of election law and encouragement of others to do the same.
Most recently, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Jerri Green posted a video on social media on Monday of this week informing her supporters that Tennessee is “an open primary state. You do not have to register with a party, you can simply ask for a democratic ballot, no matter how you’ve voted in the past.” Though her statement is technically true, it remains legally incorrect as one must be a bona fide member of whichever party’s primary they vote in and voters sign an affidavit to that effect each election.
“Hey everyone- just cheat! It’s ok,” responded one sarcastic commentor. “Still cheating. Democrats…the D stands for Dishonest,” wrote another.
Early voting continues through Saturday, August 1 and Election Day is Thursday, August 6, 2026.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
