Who's Running for What
🗳 Early voting starts tomorrow · Join us for tonight's Pamphleteer event: New American Frontiers · Marsha, Marsha, Marsha · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Early voting starts tomorrow... Marsha, Marsha, Marsha: Daily Wire endorses Blackburn for TN governor... Blackburn’s U.S. Senate campaign gave $4.8M to PAC running gubernatorial ads... Blackburn faced Senate ethics probe over use of tax dollars for political campaigns... And much more!
TONIGHT! New American Frontiers Join us for a conversation with Kevin Dolan, founder of the EXIT fraternity, on institutional decline, parallel power, and where political opportunities are. (Buy Ticket)
New TN U.S. Congressional District lookup Use your address to find your new district here.
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Early primary voting kicks off tomorrow. The GOP primary for governor has grabbed all the headlines, but contests for the GOP spot in the 6th Congressional District, the Democrat spot in the 7th Congressional District, and the Democrat spot in House District 59 are also worth monitoring.
Noticeably absent from any Davidson County ballot is the District 5 race. Nashville is now split between Congressional Districts 4, 6, and 7. Early voting and sample ballot information is available on the Davidson County Election Commission website. Use your address to find your new congressional district here.
A breezy look through the races follows with fundraising totals for the candidates in competitive races. If you want to dig deeper into candidate funding, Who Funds Tennessee is an excellent resource.
Governor Though the Democratic side of the ticket is crowded, the real contest is unfolding on the Republican side of the ticket. U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn entered the race as the clear frontrunner, but a few late-campaign missteps has given Republican challengers U.S. Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts an opening to close the gap.
- John Rose (R): $10,876,559 raised; heavily self-funded
- Marsha Blackburn (R): $9,541,518 raised; significant out-of-state contributions
- Monty Fritts (R): $281,860 raised; distant third
Campaign finance records show that PACs have spent more than $2.5 million supporting Blackburn. The D.C.-based Tennessee Freedom Fund PAC raised $4.6 million from April to June to target Rose.
U.S. Senate The only competition in Tennessee’s U.S. Senate primary race is on the Democratic ticket. Sitting Senator Bill Hagerty is enjoying an uncontested primary run and is highly favored in November’s general election.
Meanwhile, a slew of challengers will be duking it out for the Democratic nod over the next month. That said, the campaign finance disclosures show just how unserious Hagerty’s competition is.
U.S. House District 4 Incumbent Congressman Scott DesJarlais is the clear favorite in the new 4th Congressional District GOP primary. The district remains heavily Republican, making the GOP primary the real contest, but he faces a well-funded challenger on the Democratic side in Metro Councilmember Mike Cortese. Cortese is battling it out with Victoria Broderick—who previously ran for the 4th District in 2024—alongside a few other underdogs.
- Scott DesJarlais (R, incumbent) $523,391 raised; 81% from out of state
- Mike Cortese (D) $706,113 raised; best-funded in the race
U.S. House District 6 A contentious primary race is cooking up for Congressman John Rose’s open seat in District 6. State Representative Johnny Garrett and former TN-4 U.S. representative Van Hilleary are the top Republican candidates in pursuit of the nomination, with underdog Jon Henry a distant third on the fundraising front.
- Johnny Garrett (R): $2.2 million raised
- Van Hilleary (R): $1.5 million raised
- Jon Henry (R): $67 thousand raised
Chaney Mosley, Mike Croley, and Lore Bergman—who has previously challenged Rose as the Democratic nominee for this congressional district—look to be the most competitive Democratic candidates in this race.
Though the new TN-6 lines make it somewhat less Republican-leaning than the previous version of the district, it is still a Republican-favored seat.
U.S. House District 7 Congressman Matt Van Epps, who recently tasted victory after winning the special 7th District congressional election to replace Mark Green last year, faces no competition in the Republican primaries.
On the Democratic ticket, likely frontrunners are Darden Copeland—who is the strongest fundraiser on the ticket—and state Representative Vincent Dixie—an elected official with strong grassroots support.
- Darden Copeland (D) $677,614 raised; 53% from out of state
- Vincent Dixie (D) $218,197 raised
State Senate The only contested state senate race on the Davidson County ballot is District 17. Newcomer Theodore (Butch) Baker has an uphill battle against incumbent state Senator Mark Pody for the Republican nomination. Only two Democrats are competing for the primary nod: Joni Cochran and Lindsey Patrick-Wright.
- Mark Pody (R, incumbent) $674,051 raised
- Butch Baker (R) $46,430 raised
- Joni Cochran (D) $88,166 raised
- Lindsey Patrick-Wright (D) $44,732 raised
Tennessee Senate District 19 incumbent Charlane Oliver and District 21 incumbent Jeff Yarbro are both uncontested.
State House The only competitive House seat primary is on the Democratic side of the ticket in state Rep. Caleb Hemmer’s vacated District 59 seat. A crowded field finds Rick Ewing, husband of councilmember Sandy Ewing, attorney Angie Lawless, former THP Mark Proctor, and nonprofit executive Beth West duking it out for the opportunity to take on uncontested Republican nominee Bill Hancock in November.
- Mark Proctor (D) $171,515 raised; top D59 Dem. fundraiser
- Angie Lawless (D) $121,200 raised; 43% self-funded
- Rick Ewing (D) $82,886 raised
- Beth West (D) $65,558 raised
- Bill Hancock (R) $225,251 raised; sitting on ~$205K cash for November
In Districts 52, 55, and 60, both the Republican candidate and the Democrat candidate will advance uncontested. Republicans don’t have challengers in House Districts 50 (Bo Mitchell), 51 (Aftyn Behn), 53 (Jason Powell), 56 (Bob Freeman), and 58 (Harold M. Love, Jr.).
County General Elections You’ll also find a number of uncompetitive county general election races on your ballot, including judgeships, school board members, and the sheriff. Given the Republican Party’s lack of candidates during May’s primaries, all candidates are uncontested.
✹ NEW AMERICAN FRONTIERS
New American Frontiers Kevin Dolan, founder of the EXIT fraternity, argues the institutions most people still rely on have turned hostile to competence and entered a slow decline that can't be reversed from within. After being doxxed and fired in 2021, he set out to build the alternative: parallel institutions and the high-trust networks that hold up when formal ones don't.
Join us tonight, July 16th for a conversation on institutional decline, parallel power, and where the political openings actually are.
This event benefits The Pamphleteer, Nashville and is priced with that in mind. Bard-level subscribers receive free admittance.
HEADLINES (MORE LIKE MARSHA, MARSHA, MARSHA)
- ☑️ Daily Wire endorses Marsha Blackburn for TN governor. The Daily Wire endorsed U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn in the Tennessee governor’s race, arguing that her conservative record and alliance with President Donald Trump make her the right candidate to lead the state. (The Daily Wire)
- 💸 Blackburn’s U.S. Senate campaign gave $4.8M to PAC running gubernatorial ads. Senator Marsha Blackburn’s Senate campaign contributed $4.8 million to a political action committee that has been running advertisements supporting her gubernatorial bid. The spending has drawn scrutiny because it allows Blackburn-aligned political resources from her Senate operation to help promote her campaign for governor. (TNJ)
- 💰 Blackburn faced Senate ethics probe over use of tax dollars for political campaigns. Senator Marsha Blackburn’s Senate office was the subject of a confidential Senate Ethics Committee inquiry involving allegations that taxpayer-funded Senate resources or staff may have been used for political campaign activity. The investigation reportedly examined interactions between Senate employees and longtime political strategist Ward Baker; Blackburn’s office said the matter was reviewed and resolved with the office’s full cooperation. (NewsChannel 5)
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🌲 New American Frontiers @ The Eighth Room, 6p, $50, Info
🎸 Vaden Landers @ Skinny Dennis, 9p, Free, Info
🥁 Ben Rice Trio @ Vinyl Tap, 7p, Free, Info
+ Guitarist Ben Rice's jazz trio, joined by Anson Hohne and Patrick Atwater
🎸 Hamilton Leithauser @ The Basement East, 8p, $19.88, Info
🎸 Dolly Parton's Threads: My Songs in Symphony @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 6p, $69+, Info
🎙️ Open Mic @ Fox and Locke, 6:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
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