Almost halfway through the early voting period for Tennessee's Aug. 6 primary election, voter turnout continues to be higher than it was in both 2022 and 2018, with over 250,000 Tennesseans having cast their ballots as of July 23, according to data released by the secretary of state’s office.
Statewide, voters submitted 252,750 ballots — 165,119 Republican and 81,732 Democratic — in a 45% increase over 2022 and an 11% increase over 2018. Tennessee has around 4.69 million voters, according to registration data from the secretary of state.
In Davidson County, 17,841 out of 472,459 registered voters had cast their primary votes, by the latest reporting. Of those, around 66% of the ballots were for the Democratic primaries and 34% for Republican primaries.
According to historic trends, votes typically spike in the first days of voting, and then fall off before gradually ramping back up as election night draws near. This year has been similar, with voter turnout only slightly falling below 2018’s day-by-day numbers for the first time on July 23.
The last time there was an open gubernatorial primary election was in 2018, when the first six days of early voting saw 227,210 voters cast their ballots.
In 2022, when incumbent Gov. Bill Lee was running unopposed in the Republican primary, only 174,300 Tennesseans had voted by this time.
On the ballot are the governor’s race, U.S. Senate and House seats, Tennessee Senate seats for odd-numbered districts and seats in the Tennessee House, as well as elections for Republican and Democratic state executive committees.
General elections are also being held for vacant state judicial offices and some county offices.
In the GOP primary for governor,U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is facing off against U.S. Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts. Meanwhile, Jerri Green is the frontrunner among the Democratic candidates.
An unusually high number of retirements in the state legislature will give voters (especially Republicans) significant room to shape the future of their parties.
Sen. Bill Hagerty is running to hold onto his seat against a field of seasoned Democratic campaigners.
And two U.S. House seats are open in a recently overhauled congressional district map.
After redistricting, five different congressional seats represent Middle Tennesse. Learn more about those races at the following links:
- In the 4th Congressional District, Republican incumbent Scott DesJarlais for the first time in more than a decade will face a well-funded, well-connected challenger in Democrat Metro Nashville Council member Mike Cortese.
- In the 5th Congressional District, incumbent Andy Ogles's GOP primary challenger is Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher. The winner will likely face Democrat Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder in November.
- The 6th Congressional District is open after it was vacated by governor hopeful Rose. In the GOP primary, Tennessee House Republican Whip Johnny Garrett and former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary will square off. A longtime safe Republican district, no Democrat had raised more than $100,000 as of March 31 disclosures.
- The 7th Congressional District features a slate of candidates who also ran to fill the seat in a special election last fall. Nashville businessman Darden Copeland and state Rep. Vincent Dixie face off again in the Democratic primary, while Republican Matt Van Epps is the incumbent.
- In the 9th Congressional District, incumbent Steve Cohen, a Democrat, is retiring after the disrict was redrawn to favor Republicans. Four state lawmakers are vying for the seat. In the Democratic primary, state Sen. London Lamar faces state Rep. Justin Pearson. On the Republican ballot, state Sen. Brent Taylor faces state Rep. Todd Warner.
Early voting runs through Aug. 1. Election day is Aug. 6.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee primary turnout jumps by 45% compared with 2022
