Image Credit: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout
***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only.
By: Adam Friedman [Tennessee Lookout -CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] –
Tennessee’s Secretary of State has released the full list of candidates for 2026 state and federal elections following Tuesday’s filing deadline.
The marquee race of the cycle is the open governor’s seat, with term-limited Gov. Bill Lee unable to seek reelection. U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts are expected to be the main contenders for the Republican nomination, with recent polling showing Blackburn as the frontrunner.
Six candidates filed for the Democrat gubernatorial nomination, with Memphis Councilmember Jerri Green considered the frontrunner in that primary. A Democrat has not won a statewide office in Tennessee since 2006, when Gov. Phil Bredesen won reelection to a second term. The full list of gubernatorial candidates can be found here.
U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty is running for reelection and faces no primary challenger on the Republican side, with five Democrats are running, including former Fayette County Schools Board Member Civil Miller Watkins and longtime former Tennessee Democratic Party staffer Maria Brewer. The list of candidates for U.S. Senate race can be found here.
All nine U.S. House seats are on the ballot.
In the 5th Congressional District, Columbia Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles faces a primary challenge from former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher. The Democrat National Committee has identified the seat as a potential flip opportunity. The Democrat primary includes five candidates, most notably Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder and Metro Nashville Councilmember Mike Cortese.
In the 6th District, where Rose is vacating his seat to run for governor, four Republicans filed primary petitions, including state Rep. Johnny Garrett and former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary, who held the 4th Congressional District from 1994 to 2003. In the 9th District, Memphis Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen faces a primary challenge from state Rep. Justin Pearson. Pearson also filed to run for his state House seat, which is allowed under state law. The list of candidates in all U.S. House races can be found here.
In the state legislature, all 99 House seats and 17 of the Senate’s 33 districts are up for election.
The race to fill Lt. Gov. Randy McNally’s Senate District 5 Senate seat, which covers Anderson and Loudon Counties and part of Knox County, has drawn three candidates, two of whom are former legislators. Jimmy Matlock, who served in the state House from 2006 to 2019, and Stacey Campfield, who served from 2004 to 2014, are making runs for McNally’s seat.
Campfield’s time in the legislature was contentious: he filed a bill to issue death certificates to aborted fetuses and asked to join the Legislative Black Caucus, saying the group’s bylaws were racist.
Tennessee State Senate candidate list can be found here.
Tennessee State House candidate list can be found here.
