Live Results: Tennessee State House Special Elections; Nashville Mayor

Tennessee is holding several Thursday races this week. Special elections will be held for four seats in the State House, while Nashville residents will vote on a new mayor.

Polls close at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. 

Tennessee State House

Republicans hold a dominant 75-24 margin over Democrats in the Tennessee House of Representatives. There are no vacancies, as open seats are generally filled on an interim basis until a special election can be held. 

That is the case with the four seats being contested Thursday. Three of these are special general elections; winners will serve out the remainder of the two-year term; the next regularly scheduled elections are in November, 2024. Party primaries are being held in District 51.

District 3

In District 3, Republican Scotty Campbell resigned in April after an ethics violation became public. Timothy Hill (R) was selected by the Johnson County Commission to fill the seat.

Hill easily won the GOP primary in June; Lori Love was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

This elongated district along the Virginia border is very conservative. 

District 51 (Primary)

Democrat Bill Beck died in June. The Nashville Metro Council appointed one of its former members, Anthony Davis (D) to the interim role. Davis has one challenger on the primary ballot. David Hooven is unopposed for the Republican nomination.

The general election for District 51 is scheduled for September 14.

Districts 52 and 86 are also being contested Thursday. In a widely publicized event, the members representing those districts were expelled earlier this year for violating House rules. Democrats Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were attempting to advocate for gun control in the wake of a deadly shooting the prior week at a Nashville elementary school. Both were subsequently reinstated by local officials on an interim basis. 

District 52

This district includes eastern parts of the Nashville area.  Justin Jones (D) and Laura Nelson (R) were unopposed for their respective party nominations.

In 2020, then-incumbent Democrat Mike Stewart was reelected by a 72%-28% margin over his Republican challenger. Jones faced no general election opposition in winning his first term in 2022. 

District 86

This is actually the second special election in the Memphis-area District 86 this year. Long-time Rep. Barbara Cooper (D) died in October, 2022; she was posthumously reelected in November.

Rep. Justin Pearson won a January primary against nine other Democrats and was unopposed in the March special election. 

For this election, Pearson won his primary with 95% of the vote. He is opposed by independent Jeff Johnston; no Republicans qualified to run.

Mayoral Election 

Nashville, Tennessee 

*_{Population rank is based on the July 1, 2022 Census Bureau estimates. It is based on the city itself, not the associated metropolitan area.}

Mayor John Cooper is not seeking a second four-year term. Twelve candidates are competing in this nonpartisan election for the open seat.

If no candidate gets a majority of the vote - a good bet given the size of the field - a runoff between the top two finishers will take place on September 14.

Councilman Freddie O'Connell has had a small lead in limited public polling. Other candidates in the running include Alice Rolli, Matt Wiltshire, and Jeff Yarbro. All are Democrats except for Rolli. This leaves open the possibility that Rolli will consolidate enough GOP support in this otherwise heavily Democratic city to make the runoff.

Upcoming Elections

Looking ahead to 2024? Bookmark the Presidential Election Calendar.

• August 8
  • Mississippi Primary
    • Runoffs, as needed, August 29
  • Ohio Ballot Measure on 60% Threshold for Constitutional Amendments
• August 22
  • New Hampshire State House District Grafton 16 Special
• September 5
  • Rhode Island Congressional District 1 Special (Primary)
  • Utah Congressional District 2 Special (Primary)
  • Rhode Island State Senate District 1 Special (Primary)
  • South Carolina State Senate District 42 Special (Primary)
• September 12
  • Charlotte, North Carolina Mayoral (Primary)