Tennessee congressional elections: Who's on the ballot?
Tennesseans in the coming days will cast their first General Election ballots in their newly drawn congressional districts that could see Republicans gain a House seat in their congressional delegation for the next four years.
The state's Republican supermajority earlier this year carved up the existing 5th District in Nashville, shattering a long-time Democratic stronghold and parceling bits into adjacent districts and drawing a new 5th to largely favor a Republican candidate.
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Tennessee's redistricting process has made the new 5th race one to watch, and complicated voting matters in the run-up to Election Day.
Davidson County election officials on Nov. 1 said issues with the county's mapping software led to at least 190 people casting ballots in the wrong congressional district. The problem arose when trying to map the new congressional districts that, in some places, split streets down the middle. Officials say the problem has now been corrected, but they cannot retroactively fix the wrongly cast ballots, which may have occurred in the primary, as well.
District 7 candidate Odessa Kelly, a Democrat who intended to run in the 5th before redistricting, sharply criticized the issue as early voting wound down. Kelly has mounted a well-funded campaign against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green but faces an uphill battle in the conservative 7th.
More:Is Tennessee's 5th Congressional District race competitive? More than you think and here's why
More:Nashville election chief: 190 ballots wrongly cast in congressional race, problem fixed
Here's who will be on the ballot for the Middle Tennessee congressional districts:
District 5
Tennessee state Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, faces Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles, the Republican nominee, in the new-look 5th, the only congressional race in the state without an incumbent. Also in the race are independents Derrick Brantley of Nashville, Daniel Cooper of Spring Hill and Rick Shannon of Franklin.
Current U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, did not to seek reelection following the redistricting effort that pulled the 5th from central Nashville.
The new district contains parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties, along with rural Lewis, Maury and Marshall counties.
More:Andy Ogles wins crowded Republican primary for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District
District 6
U.S. Rep. John Rose, R-Cookeville, and Democrat Randal Cooper are vying for the new 6th seat. A majority rural district before redistricting, the 6th shifted to include areas like East Nashville and Donelson.
Cooper, a mechanical engineer, joined the race after the redistricting process, which he has decried as partisan gerrymandering. There are no independents in the race.
Rose was first elected in 2018 and ran unopposed in the Republican primary.
District 7
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, will face Democrat Odessa Kelly of Nashville in the general election, along with independent Steven Hooper of McEwen.
Kelly initially mounted an early primary challenge to Cooper in the 5th. But Kelly, co-founder of community advocacy group Stand Up Nashville, was drawn out of the 5th and decided to shift focus to the 7th against Green, who was elected in 2018.
Kelly outmatched Green in third-quarter fundraising, indicating strong grassroots support as she has engaged an aggressive ground campaign in the district. Still, Green has outraised Kelly overall, and the district's existing Republican base outnumbers the new Democrats pulled in from the shattered 5th. Kelly faces an uphill battle to overcome the district's demographics.
On the ballot:Who is on the ballot for contested Middle Tennessee legislative races?
More:Nashville will elect three members of Congress, but will the city be represented? | Plazas
Outside of the 5th, no other congressional seats are open for grabs. In Shelby County's 9th, Tennessee's last remaining Democratic incumbent is vying for another term, while Republican incumbents are on the ballot elsewhere.
District 1
In East Tennessee, Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Kingsport, faces Democrat Cameron Parsons of Kingsport and independents Richard Baker and Matt Makrom, both of Johnson City.
All ran unopposed in the August primaries.
District 2
Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, faces Democrat Mark Harmon. There are no independents in the race.
More:Hear from Nov. 8 candidates on the ballot in Knox County, in their own words
District 3
Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, faces Democrat Meg Gorman of Chattanooga, along with independents Thomas Rumba of Charleston and Rick Tyler of Delano.
District 4
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-South Pittsburg, is seeking reelection against Democrat Wayne Steele of Fayetteville. The independents in the race are Clyde Benson of Huntland, Tharon Chandler of Lawrenceburg, David Leighton Lewis of Estill Springs, Joseph "Krishnadas" Magyer of Shelbyville and Mike Winton of Tullahoma.
District 8
Incumbent U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R-Germantown, faces Democrat Lynnette Williams of Collierville in the 8th. Independents James Hart of Buchanan and Ronnie Henley of Newbern are also on the ballot.
District 9
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, faces Republican Charlotte Bergmann of Memphis in the election for the 9th Congressional District. It's not the first time the two have faced off.
Bergmann lost to Cohen in 2010, 2014 and 2020.
Independents Dennis Clark of Arlington, Paul Cooke of Cordova and George Flinn of Memphis will also be on the ballot for the 9th.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee elections: Congressional candidates on the 2022 ballot
