Tennessee State Senate elections, 2024
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| 2024 Tennessee Senate Elections | |
|---|---|
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| Primary | August 1, 2024 |
| General | November 5, 2024 |
| Past Election Results |
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| 2024 Elections | |
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Elections for the Tennessee State Senate will take place in 2024. The general election is on November 5, 2024. The primary is August 1, 2024. The filing deadline was April 4, 2024.
The Tennessee State Senate is one of 85 state legislative chambers holding elections in 2024. There are 99 chambers throughout the country.
For more information on the August 1 Republican primaries, click here.
Party control
| Party | As of July 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 6 | |
| Republican Party | 27 | |
| Other | 0 | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | |
Candidates
Primary
Tennessee State Senate primary 2024 |
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| Office |  Democratic |
 Republican |
Other |
| District 2 |
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| District 4 |
No candidates filed for the Democratic primary |
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| District 6 |
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| District 8 |
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| District 10 |
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| District 12 |
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| District 14 |
Shane Reeves (i) |
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| District 16 |
Janice Bowling (i) |
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| District 18 |
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| District 20 |
Heidi Campbell (i) |
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| District 22 |
Bill Powers (i) |
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| District 24 |
No candidates filed for the Democratic primary |
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| District 26 |
No candidates filed for the Democratic primary |
Page Walley (i) |
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| District 28 |
Joey Hensley (i) Did not make the ballot: |
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| District 30 |
No candidates filed for the Republican primary |
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| District 32 |
No candidates filed for the Democratic primary |
Paul Rose (i) Did not make the ballot: |
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= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate ConnectionGeneral election
Tennessee State Senate general election 2024 |
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| Office | Democratic |
Republican |
Other |
| District 2 | Primary results pending | ||
| District 4 |
Primary results pending |
Primary results pending |
Dalia Price (Independent) |
| District 6 | Primary results pending | ||
| District 8 | Primary results pending | ||
| District 10 | Primary results pending | ||
| District 12 |
Primary results pending |
Primary results pending |
Charles Hutson II (Independent) |
| District 14 | Primary results pending | ||
| District 16 |
Primary results pending |
Primary results pending |
Scott Bean (Independent) |
| District 18 |
Primary results pending |
Primary results pending |
Laura Black (Independent) |
| District 20 | Primary results pending | ||
| District 22 | Primary results pending | ||
| District 24 | Primary results pending | ||
| District 26 | Primary results pending | ||
| District 28 | Primary results pending | ||
| District 30 |
Primary results pending |
Primary results pending |
Mitchell Morrison (Independent) |
| District 32 | Primary results pending | ||
August 1 Republican primaries
There are eight Republican primaries for the Tennessee State Senate on August 1, 2024. An incumbent is running in seven of those primaries.
The 2024 elections are taking place in the context of a conflict among House Republicans over a proposal to expand Tennessee's school voucher program. In the 2024 legislative session, Gov. Bill Lee (R) supported a proposal allowing all Tennessee families with school-age children access to vouchers to be applied towards the cost of private school.
The bill did not advance to a final vote before the end of the session owing to differences between the House and Senate drafts in what Chalkbeat described as "one of the biggest defeats of [Lee's] administration, now in its second term."[1] According to the Tennessee Lookout, with the legislature out of session until 2025, the primaries "are the next frontier in the debate over whether state lawmakers should adopt a universal plan to provide parents with $7,200 in cash to subsidize private school tuition."[2] As of June 7, 2024, Lee had endorsed two Senate incumbents.[3]
Ballotpedia identified the Republican primaries in Districts 2, 4, 6, and 18 as battlegrounds. Three primaries feature an incumbent and a single challenger. The fourth is for an open seat. All three races featuring incumbents have spending reported from at least four of the seven PACs Ballotpedia identified as having a history of recent advocacy for school vouchers in Tennessee. The fourth battleground feature an incumbent member of the House who opposed Lee's vouchers proposal. Click here for more on the battleground primaries and here for more on PAC spending in the Tennessee Senate.
The 2024 legislative elections have eight contested Republican primaries compared to four in both 2022 and 2020. Seven of those primaries have an incumbent on the ballot compared to three in both 2022 and 2020.
Tennessee is one of 23 states with a Republican trifecta. A state government trifecta is a term used to describe a single-party government where one political party holds the governor's office and a majority in both chambers of the state legislature.
For more information on the November general elections for the Tennessee Senate, click here.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Tennessee
Incumbents retiring
One incumbent did not file for re-election in 2024.[4] The average number of retirements each election cycle from 2010 to 2022 was 2.7. That incumbent is:
| Name | Party | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Art Swann |  Republican |
Senate District 2 |
Primary election competitiveness
This section contains data on state legislative primary election competitiveness in Tennessee. These totals include data from all regularly-scheduled House and Senate elections. For more information about Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of state legislative elections, please click here.
Post-filing deadline analysis
The following analysis covers all state legislative districts up for election in Tennessee in 2024. Information below was calculated on May 22, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.
Tennessee has 240 major party candidates running for state legislative office in 2024, the most of any election cycle since 2014. Of the 240 total candidates, 106 are Democrats, a decade-high and up 34% from 2022. There are 134 Republican candidates, one candidate fewer than in 2022.
Tennessee has 41 contested state legislative primaries in 2024, a 14% increase from the previous cycle. Fourteen of the 41 contested primaries are for Democrats. This is the same as in 2020 and up 27% from 11 in 2022. Republicans have 27 contested primaries, up 8% from 2022.
Twenty-eight incumbents face primary challenges in 2024, representing 26% of all incumbents running for re-election. This is higher than the two preceding cycles, but lower than the 2016 and 2018 cycles.
Open seats
The table below shows the number and percentage of open seats in the Tennessee State Senate from 2010 to 2024.[5]
| Open Seats in Tennessee State Senate elections: 2010 - 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Seats with incumbents running for re-election |
| 2024 | 16 | 1 (6 percent) | 15 (94 percent) |
| 2022 | 17 | 3 (18 percent) | 14 (82 percent) |
| 2020 | 16 | 1 (6 percent) | 15 (94 percent) |
| 2018 | 18 | 3 (17 percent) | 15 (83 percent) |
| 2016 | 16 | 1 (6 percent) | 15 (94 percent) |
| 2014 | 18 | 4 (22 percent) | 14 (78 percent) |
| 2012 | 16 | 5 (31 percent) | 11 (69 percent) |
| 2010 | 17 | 2 (12 percent) | 15 (88 percent) |
Legislative referrals
- See also: Legislative referral
A legislative referral, or legislatively referred ballot measure, is a ballot measure that appears on the ballot due to a vote of the state legislature. A legislative referral can be a constitutional amendment, state statute, or bond issue.
As of the 2024 election, the state Legislature must pass a constitutional amendment during two successive legislative sessions with an election in between. During the first legislative session, a simple majority vote is required in both legislative chambers, which amounts to 17 votes in the Senate and 50 votes in the House. During the second legislative session, a two-thirds vote is required in both legislative chambers, which amounts to 22 in the Senate and 66 in the House. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot. In Tennessee, amendments must be placed on general election ballots in which there is also a gubernatorial election.
Heading into the 2024 election, Republicans hold a 27-6 majority in the Senate and a 75-24 majority in the House. Democrats would need to win 16 Senate seats and 42 House seats to be able to pass legislative referrals without Republican votes. Republicans would need to lose six Senate seats and 10 House seats to lose the same ability.
Process to become a candidate
See statutes: Chapter 2-5 and Chapter 2-7 of the Tennessee Code
State legislative candidates
A candidate running for the state legislature, whether partisan or independent, must adhere to the same ballot access requirements, which are detailed below.
- The candidate must obtain a nominating petition from a county election commission office or the office of the state coordinator of elections.[6][7]
- The nominating petition must be signed by the candidate and at least 25 voters who are registered in the candidate's district.[6][7]
- The signer of a petition must include the address shown on his or her voter registration card in order for his or her signature to be counted.[7]
- The candidate must file the original nominating petition in the office of the county election commission by the first Thursday of April in his or her county of residence. The candidate must also file a certified duplicate in the county election commission office in each county wholly or partially within the candidate's district. This requirement applies to both political party candidates running in the primary and independent candidates running in the general election.[6][7]
- There are no filing fees.
Federal and statewide office
A partisan or independent candidate for governor, United States Representative, or United States Senator must obtain a nominating petition from a county election commission office or the office of the state coordinator of elections.[8][9]
- The nominating petition must be signed by at least 25 voters who are registered anywhere in Tennessee.[8][10]
- The signer of a petition must include the address shown on his or her voter registration card in order for the signature to be counted.[7]
- The candidate must file the nominating petition no later than noon on the first Thursday of April.[8][10]
- The candidate must file the original nominating petition in the office of the Tennessee State Election Commission. The candidate must also file a certified duplicate in the office of the state coordinator of elections. Both of these must be received by the qualifying deadline.[8][10]
- There are no filing fees.
For write-in candidates
In order to have his or her votes tallied, a write-in candidate must file a certificate of write-in candidacy no later than noon on the 50th day before the general election in each county that makes up the district of the listed office. For the offices of governor, United States Senator, and United States Representative, this form must be filed with the Tennessee Coordinator of Elections.[11][12]
Qualifications
To be eligible to serve in the Tennessee State Senate, a candidate must be:[13]
- A U.S. citizen
- 30 years old before the general election
- A three-year resident of Tennessee before the general election
- A district resident for 1 year prior to the general election
- A qualified voter
- The following situations would eliminate a candidate from qualifying for office:
- Those who have been convicted of offering or giving a bribe, or of larceny, or any other offense declared infamous by law, unless restored to citizenship in the mode pointed out by law;
- Those against whom there is a judgment unpaid for any moneys received by them, in any official capacity, due to the United States, to this state, or any county thereof;
- Those who are defaulters to the treasury at the time of the election, and the election of any such person shall be void;
- Soldiers, seamen, marines, or airmen in the regular army or navy or air force of the United States; and
- Members of congress, and persons holding any office of profit or trust under any foreign power, other state of the union, or under the United States.
Salaries and per diem
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2023 | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $28,406/year | For legislators residing within 50 miles of the capitol: $79/day. For legislators residing more than 50 miles from the capitol: $313/day. |
When sworn in
Tennessee legislators assume office on the day they are elected in the general election.[14]
Tennessee political history
Trifectas
A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.
Tennessee Party Control: 1992-2024
Five years of Democratic trifectas • Fourteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Presidential politics in Tennessee
2020
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
Presidential election in Tennessee, 2020
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
||
| ✔ |
 
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
60.7
|
1,852,475 | 11 |
 
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
37.5
|
1,143,711 | 0 | |
 
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (Independent) |
1.0
|
29,877 | 0 | |
 
| Ye/Michelle Tidball (Independent) |
0.3
|
10,279 | 0 | |
 
| Don Blankenship/William Mohr (Independent) |
0.2
|
5,365 | 0 | |
 
| Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (Independent) |
0.1
|
4,545 | 0 | |
 
| Alyson Kennedy/Malcolm Jarrett (Independent) |
0.1
|
2,576 | 0 | |
 
| Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman (Independent) |
0.1
|
2,301 | 0 | |
 
| Roque De La Fuente/Darcy Richardson (Independent) |
0.1
|
1,860 | 0 | |
| Other write-in votes |
0.0
|
862 | 0 | ||
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Total votes: 3,053,851 |
2016
- See also: Presidential election, 2016
| U.S. presidential election, Tennessee, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine | 34.7% | 870,695 | 0 | |
| Republican |  Donald Trump/Mike Pence |
60.7% | 1,522,925 | 11 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson/Bill Weld | 2.8% | 70,397 | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka | 0.6% | 15,993 | 0 | |
| Independent | Rocky De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg | 0.2% | 4,075 | 0 | |
| Independent | Alyson Kennedy/Osborne Hart | 0.1% | 2,877 | 0 | |
| Independent | Mike Smith/Daniel White | 0.3% | 7,276 | 0 | |
| - | Write-in votes | 0.5% | 13,789 | 0 | |
| Total Votes | 2,508,027 | 11 | |||
| Election results via: Tennessee Secretary of State | |||||
Tennessee presidential election results (1900-2020)
- 15 Democratic wins
- 16 Republican wins
| Year | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 | 1924 | 1928 | 1932 | 1936 | 1940 | 1944 | 1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1960 | 1964 | 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | 1980 | 1984 | 1988 | 1992 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2012 | 2016 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winning Party | D | D | D | D | D | R | D | R | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | D | R | R | D | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Chalkbeat, "Tennessee’s universal school voucher plan is dead for now, governor acknowledges," April 22, 2024
- ↑ Tennessee Lookout, "Tennessee’s school voucher debate turns to competitive Republican state House and Senate primaries," May 2, 2024
- ↑ Facebook, "Bill Lee," accessed May 31, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines an incumbent as retiring if the incumbent did not file for office or filed for office but withdrew, was disqualified, or otherwise left a race in a manner other than losing the primary, primary runoff, or convention. If an incumbent runs as a write-in candidate, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring. If an incumbent runs in the same chamber for a different seat, Ballotpedia does not consider them to be retiring.
- ↑ Ballotpedia defines a seat as open if the incumbent did not file to run for re-election or filed but withdrew and did not appear on any ballot for his or her seat. If the incumbent withdrew from or did not participate in the primary but later chose to seek re-election to his or her seat as a third party or independent candidate, the seat would not be counted as open. If the incumbent retired or ran for a different seat in the same chamber, his or her original seat would be counted as open unless another incumbent from the same chamber filed to run for that seat, in which case it would not be counted as open due to the presence of an incumbent.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Tennessee Department of Elections, "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for Tennessee House of Representatives," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Tennessee Code, "Chapter 2-5-101," accessed February 22, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Tennessee Department of Elections, "Qualifying Procedures for Candidates for Governor," accessed November 26, 2013
- ↑ Tennessee Code, "Chapter 2-5-103," accessed February 24, 2014
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Tennessee Secretary of State, "Tennessee Candidates for United States Senate," accessed February 25, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Department of Elections, "Write-In Candidacy," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Tennessee Code, "Chapter 2-7-133," accessed February 24, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Qualifications for elected offices in Tennessee," accessed December 18, 2013
- ↑ Tennessee Constitution, "Article II, Section 3," accessed November 1, 2021
