Overview
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn captured the Republican gubernatorial nomination and Memphis City Councilmember Jerri Green won the Democratic primary in contests decided on Aug. 6, setting the fall matchup for a deep-red state.
- Republican lawmakers used a new congressional map passed in May to split Memphis’s majority-Black district into three Republican-leaning districts, a change that prompted longtime Rep. Steve Cohen to announce he would not seek reelection.
- The redrawn lines reshaped multiple U.S. House primaries in Shelby, Davidson and Knox counties and left several contests favoring Republicans, including a Trump-backed bid in the reconfigured 9th District.
- Rep. John Rose, who loaned roughly $13 million to his campaign, lost the GOP primary to Blackburn while President Trump declined to endorse in the governor’s contest but backed select House contenders.
- If Blackburn wins the November general election she would vacate her Senate seat, creating a governor’s appointment and a likely special election and shifting national attention to Tennessee’s balance in Congress.