Tennessee primary pits senior senator, governor hopefuls and new House contenders

On Thursday, Tennessee holds a pivotal primary that includes the governor’s race, a U.S. Senate contest and the inaugural House nominations shaped by a new Republican-crafted map. Gov. Bill Lee is barred from running again, and the GOP primary to succeed him features Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts, with Blackburn having out-raised Rose and receiving support from an outside group. The redistricting split Memphis into three Republican-leaning districts, prompting Democrat Steve Cohen to step down and opening the field to candidates such as state Rep. Justin Pearson and state Sen. London Lamar.

The new 9th District’s Republican primary includes state Sen. Brent Taylor, who leads in fundraising and holds Trump’s endorsement. Meanwhile, incumbent Sen. Bill Hagerty runs for a second term against five Democrats, a race last won by a Democrat in 1990. Early and absentee voting have already yielded roughly 397,000 Republican and 225,000 Democratic ballots.