The 2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 6, 2018, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate,

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican Senator

Bob Corker Robert Phillips Corker Jr. (born August 24, 1952) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Rela ...

opted to retire instead of running for a third term. Republican U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn won the open seat, defeating former Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

* Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

* Aaron Pettigrew, truck driver

Withdrawn

, incumbent U.S. Senator * Rolando Toyos, ophthalmologist and candidate for the Shelby County Commission in 2010 * Larry Crim, perennial candidate *

Andy Ogles William Andrew Ogles IV (born June 18, 1971) is an American far-right politician and businessman who has served as the U.S. representative from Tennessee's 5th congressional district since 2023 and served as mayor of Maury County, Tennessee, ...

, former director of the Tennessee chapter of Americans for Prosperity *

Stephen Fincher Stephen Lee Fincher (born February 7, 1973) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. The seat was vacated by retiring Democratic incumbent John S. Tanner in 2010, a ...

, former U.S. Representative

Declined

Mae Beavers Mae Beavers (born December 11, 1947 in Millport, Alabama) is an American politician and public servant. A Republican, she was a member of the Tennessee Senate for the 17th district from 2003 until she resigned to run for governor in August 2017. ...

, former state senator ( formerly ran for Governor) * Diane Black, U.S. Representative ( unsuccessfully ran for Governor) * Randy Boyd, former commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development ( unsuccessfully ran for Governor) *

Tim Burchett Timothy Floyd Burchett (born August 25, 1964) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , based in Knoxville, serving since 2019. A Republican, Burchett was formerly mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. He served in the Tennessee ...

, Knox County Mayor ( running for TN-02) *

Joe Carr Joseph Benedict Carr (22 February 1922 – 3 June 2004) was an Irish amateur golfer. Carr was born in Inchicore, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, to George and Margaret Mary "Missie" Waters (the fifth of seven children). At 10 days old, he was ado ...

, former state representative, candidate for U.S. Senate in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and candidate for TN-06 in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Chuck Fleischmann Charles Joseph Fleischmann (; born October 11, 1962) is an American attorney and politician who has been the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 2011. The district is based in Chattanooga and includes a large ...

, U.S. Representative ( running for reelection) * Mark Green, state senator ( running for TN-07) * Beth Harwell, Speaker of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

( unsuccessfully ran for Governor) *

Bill Haslam William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...

Governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The governor is the only official in Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state. The current governor is Bill Lee, a ...

* David Kustoff, U.S. Representative ( running for reelection) * Bill Lee, businessman ( ran for Governor) *

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...

, retired football player *

Randy McNally James Rand McNally (born January 30, 1944) is an American politician serving as the 50th Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee, lieutenant governor of Tennessee since 2017. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he has bee ...

Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee The lieutenant governor and speaker of the Senate of Tennessee is the presiding officer of the Tennessee Senate and first in line in the succession to the office of governor of Tennessee in the event of the death, resignation, or removal from ...

Ron Ramsey Ronald Lynn Ramsey (; born November 20, 1955) is an American auctioneer, politician, and lobbyist, who served as the 49th lieutenant governor of Tennessee and speaker of the State Senate from 2007 to 2017. A Republican from Blountville in East ...

, former

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and candidate for governor in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Speculation surrounding Senator Corker

On September 26, 2017, Republican Senator

announced that he would not seek reelection in 2018. Without Corker running, it was widely believed that the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

would have a much harder time keeping the seat. Many called on Corker to reverse his decision to retire. Former U.S. Representative Fincher dropped out of the race, calling on Corker to jump back in and challenge U.S. Representative Blackburn for the GOP nomination. Fincher said in a statement that the GOP should unite "behind a candidate who can win" the general election. Blackburn said she would remain in the race even if Corker reversed his decision. Amid the speculation about Corker's decision, many of Tennessee's Republican politicians, including many in the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

, reiterated their support for Blackburn. Corker's chief of staff announced on February 27, 2018, that Corker would stick with his plan to retire.

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Tennessee Senate Republican primary, 2018

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

* Phil Bredesen, former

and former

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Eliminated in primary

* Gary Davis *

John Wolfe Jr. John McConnell Wolfe Jr. (born April 21, 1954) is an American attorney and perennial political candidate. He challenged President Barack Obama for the Democratic Party's 2012 presidential nomination. He ultimately emerged as the most successfu ...

attorney and perennial candidate

Withdrawn

* James Mackler, attorney and veteran * Bill Bailey, teaching assistant and retired

UPS UPS or ups may refer to: Companies and organizations * United Parcel Service, an American shipping company ** The UPS Store, UPS subsidiary ** UPS Airlines, UPS subsidiary * Underground Press Syndicate, later ''Alternative Press Syndicate'' or ...

trailer mechanic

Declined

* Andy Berke,

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

* Megan Barry, former

* Jim Cooper, U.S. Representative and nominee for U.S. Senate in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Karl Dean Karl Foster Dean (born September 20, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 6th Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee from 2007 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Nashville's Director of Law under Mayor Bill Pu ...

, former

( running for Governor) * Craig Fitzhugh, Minority Leader of the

( unsuccessfully ran for Governor) * Bill Freeman, businessman and candidate for Mayor of

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

* Lee Harris, Minority Leader of the Tennessee Senate *

Jeff Yarbro Jeff Yarbro (born February 16, 1977) is an American attorney and politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he has represented District 21 in the Tennessee Senate since 2015, and has been the Minority Leader of the chamber since ...

, state senator *

Raumesh Akbari Raumesh Aleza Akbari (''ruh-MESH'' ''ack-BERRY'') (born April 14, 1984) is an American politician and member of the Tennessee Senate for the 29th district since 2019. She was formerly a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 91 ...

, state representative * John Ray Clemmons, state representative *

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

, country musician, songwriter and actor

Results

Tennessee Senate Democratic primary, 2018

Independents

* Dean Hill, US Army Veteran, Ex-Government, Business Owner, Realtor

General election

The election was expected to be among the most competitive Senate races in 2018. Corker's retirement and Bredesen's entry into the race made it one of the few potential offensive opportunities for Democrats. On November 1, 2018, incumbent Bob Corker announced that he would not endorse either Blackburn or Bredesen; he added that either candidate would be a good senator for Tennessee. Polls showed the race to be close until the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice

Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oc ...

in September and October, which many Tennesseans believed the Democratic Party handled poorly. This is believed to have mobilized Republican voters and cost Bredesen any chance of winning. Bredesen also announced his support for Kavanaugh, which some believe may have cost him supporters.

Predictions

Debates

Complete video of debate
September 25, 2018
Complete video of debate
October 10, 2018

Endorsements

Fundraising

Polling

;with generic Republican and generic Democrat ;with Bob Corker ;with Stephen Fincher ;with Clay Travis ;with Bob Corker and generic Democrat {, class="wikitable" , - valign=bottom ! Poll source ! Date(s)
administered ! Sample
size ! Margin
of error ! style="width:100px;", Bob
Corker (R) ! style="width:100px;", Generic
Democrat ! Undecided , -
Public Policy Polling (D-Our Lives on the Line)
, align=center, August 11–13, 2017 , align=center, 663 , align=center, ± 3.6% , align=center, 47% , align=center, 37% , align=center, 16% ;with Peyton Manning {, class="wikitable" , - valign=bottom ! Poll source ! Date(s)
administered ! Sample
size ! Margin
of error ! style="width:100px;", Peyton
Manning (R) ! style="width:100px;", Phil
Bredesen (D) ! Undecided , -
Gravis Marketing
, align=center, December 11–12, 2017 , align=center, 563 , align=center, ± 4.1% , align=center, 44% , align=center, 39% , align=center, 17%

Results

On November 6, 2018, Blackburn defeated Bredesen in the general election, carrying all but three counties, the largest number of counties ever won in an open senate election in Tennessee. Although polls began to show the race in Blackburn's favor following the Kavanaugh hearings, Blackburn won by a larger margin than all but one poll showed.

Notes

References

External links

Candidates
at

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

Candidates
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Campaign finance
at FEC
Campaign finance
at

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;Official campaign websites
Marsha Blackburn (R) for SenatePhil Bredesen (D) for SenateKris L. Todd (I) for Senate
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Senate Election In Tennessee, 2018

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

2018 Tennessee elections