Tennessee's 2014 elections U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • State Senate • State House • State ballot measures • School boards • Judicial • Candidate ballot access

2015 → ← 2013

The state of Tennessee held elections in 2014. Below are the dates of note:

2014 elections and events in Tennessee
Filing deadline for all candidates	April 3, 2014
Voter registration deadline for Primary election	July 8, 2014
Primary election date	August 7, 2014
Local ballot measure election (1)	August 7, 2014
Voter registration deadline for general election	October 6, 2014
General election date	November 4, 2014
Statewide ballot measure election	November 4, 2014

Below are the types of elections that were scheduled in Tennessee in 2014:

On the 2014 ballot
Find current election news and links here.
U.S. Senate	a
U.S. House	a
State Executives	a
State Senate	a
State House	a
Statewide ballot measures (4 measures)	a
Local ballot measures	a
School boards	a
State courts	a

2014 elections[edit]

Races to watch in Tennessee[edit]

Tennessee State Legislature

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See also: Tennessee State Senate elections, 2014 and Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for 18 seats in the Tennessee State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 7, 2014. A general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 3, 2014. Heading into the election, the Republican Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the eight districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.

2012 Margin of Victory, Tennessee State Senate
District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Votes	Top Opponent
District 22	Mark Green	6.2%	60,220	Tim Barnes
District 20	Steven Dickerson	8.2%	85,534	Phillip North
District 10	Todd Gardenhire	8.6%	67,302	Andrae McGary
District 28	Joey Hensley	10.3%	67,736	Tyler Cobb
District 24	John Stevens	12.9%	68,474	Brad Thompson
District 26	Dolores Gresham	20.9%	71,121	Meryl Rice
District 16	Janice Bowling	25.9%	63,775	Jim Lewis
District 6	Becky Duncan Massey	37.3%	72,435	Evelyn Gill

Elections for 99 seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 7, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 3, 2014. Heading into the election, the Republican Party controlled the chamber. The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6, 2012, general election.

2012 Margin of Victory, Tennessee House of Representatives
District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Votes	Top Opponent
District 60	Darren Jernigan	0.4%	24,525	Jim Gotto
District 50	Bo Mitchell	0.6%	26,260	Charles Williamson
District 13	Gloria Johnson	1.4%	20,832	Gary Loe
District 33	John Ragan	2.8%	24,954	Jim Hackworth
District 43	Charles Curtiss	3.3%	20,563	Robert Dunham
District 74	John Tidwell	5.3%	17,773	Lauri Day
District 70	Barry Doss	6.1%	22,482	Calvin Moore
District 4	Kent Williams	7.4%	21,360	Thomas Gray III
District 76	Andy Holt	8.6%	20,477	Mark Maddox
District 53	Jason Powell	8.7%	19,700	Ben Claybaker

Elections by type[edit]

U.S. Senate[edit]

U.S. Senate elections in Tennessee[edit]

See also: United States Senate elections in Tennessee, 2014 and United States Senate elections, 2014

Voters in Tennessee elected one member to the U.S. Senate in the election on November 4, 2014.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
April 3, 2014	August 7, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Tennessee utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.^[1][2]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by July 8, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 6, 2014.^[3]

See also: Tennessee elections, 2014

Incumbent: The election filled the Senate seat held by Lamar Alexander (R). Alexander was first elected in 2002.

Candidates[edit]

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Note: The filing deadline for candidates was April 3, 2014.

General election candidates

• Lamar Alexander - Incumbenta
• Gordon Ball
• Ed Gauthier^[4]
• Bartholomew Phillips^[4]
• C. Salekin^[4]
• Danny Page^[4]
• Eric Schechter^[4]
• Joshua James^[4]
• Rick Tyler^[4]
• Joe Wilmoth^[4]
• Tom Emerson, Jr.^[4]
• Martin Pleasant^[5]
• Erin Kent Magee- write-in^[6]

August 7, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Lamar Alexander - Incumbenta[4][7] Joe Carr - State Representative[4] Brenda Lenard[4] George Flinn Jr.[4] Christian Agnew[4] Erin Kent Magee[4] John D. King[4]

Democratic Primary Larry Crim[4] Gary Davis[4] Gordon Balla[4][7] Terry Adams[4]

Withdrew from race

• Harrison Kelly^[4][8]

Removed from ballot

• Fred Anderson^[4][5]
• Floyd Conover^[4][5]
• DEA. Jones^[4][5]

U.S. House[edit]

U.S. House of Representatives elections in Tennessee[edit]

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2014 and United States House of Representatives elections, 2014

The 2014 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Tennessee took place on November 4, 2014. Voters elected nine candidates to serve in the U.S. House, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts.

Candidate Filing Deadline	Primary Election	General Election
April 3, 2014	August 7, 2014	November 4, 2014

Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Tennessee utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.^[9][10]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by July 8, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 6, 2014.^[11]

See also: Tennessee elections, 2014

Partisan breakdown[edit]

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Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held seven of the nine congressional seats from Tennessee.

Members of the U.S. House from Tennessee -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2014	After the 2014 Election
	Democratic Party	2	2
	Republican Party	7	7
Total		9	9

Incumbents[edit]

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Heading into the 2014 election, the incumbents for the nine congressional districts were:

Name	Party	District
Phil Roe	Republican	1
John J. Duncan, Jr.	Republican	2
Charles J. Fleischmann	Republican	3
Scott DesJarlais	Republican	4
Jim Cooper	Democratic	5
Diane Black	Republican	6
Marsha Blackburn	Republican	7
Stephen Lee Fincher	Republican	8
Steve Cohen	Democratic	9

List of candidates by district[edit]

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Note: The filing deadline for candidates was April 3, 2014.

1st Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• Phil Roe - Incumbenta
• Michael Salyer^[12]
• Robert Franklin^[12]
• Robert Smith^[13]

August 7, 2014, Republican Primary

• Phil Roe - Incumbenta^[12][14]
• Dan Hartley^[12]

2nd Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• John J. Duncan, Jr. - Incumbenta
• Bob Scott^[12]
• Norris Dryer^[12]
• Casey Gouge^[12]

August 7, 2014, Republican Primary

• John J. Duncan, Jr. - Incumbenta^[12][14]
• Jason Zachary^[12]

3rd Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• Charles J. Fleischmann - Incumbenta
• Mary Headrick^[12]
• Cassandra Mitchell^[12]

August 7, 2014, Republican Primary

• Charles J. Fleischmann - Incumbenta^[12][14]
• Weston Wamp^[12]

4th Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• Scott DesJarlais - Incumbenta^[15]
• Lenda Sherrell^[12]
• Robert Doggart^[12]

August 7, 2014, Republican Primary

• Scott DesJarlais - Incumbenta^[12][14]
• Michael Warden^[12]
• David Tate^[12]
• Jim Tracy - State Senator^[12]
• Steve Lane^[12]
• Yomi Faparusi^[12]
• John Anderson^[12]

5th Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• Jim Cooper - Incumbenta^[12]
• Bob Ries
• Paul Deakin^[12]

August 7, 2014, Republican Primary

• Chris Carter^[12]
• Bob Riesa^[12][14]
• John Smith^[12]
• Ronnie Holden^[12]

Removed from ballot

• David Russell^[12][5]

6th Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• Diane Black - Incumbenta
• Amos Powers^[12]
• Mike Winton^[12]

August 7, 2014, Republican Primary

• Diane Black - Incumbenta^[12][14]
• Jerry Lowery^[12]

7th Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• Marsha Blackburn - Incumbenta
• Dan Cramer
• Lenny Ladner^[12]

August 7, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Marsha Blackburn - Incumbenta[12][14] Jacob Brimm[12]

Democratic Primary Dan Cramera[12][14] Credo Amouzouvik[12]

8th Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• Stephen Lee Fincher - Incumbenta
• Wes Bradley
• Mark Rawles^[12]
• James Hart^[12]

August 7, 2014, primary results

Republican Primary Stephen Lee Fincher - Incumbenta[12][14] Dana Matheny[12] John Mills[12]

Democratic Primary Larry Pivnick[12] Rickey Hobson[12] Tom Reasons[12] Wes Bradleya[12][14]

9th Congressional District[edit]

General election candidates

• Steve Cohen - Incumbenta
• Charlotte Bergmann^[12]
• Floyd Alberson^[12]
• Paul Cook^[12]
• Herbert Bass^[16]

August 7, 2014, Democratic Primary

• Steve Cohen - Incumbenta^[12][14]
• Ricky Wilkins^[12]
• Isaac Richmond^[12]

State Executives[edit]

State executive official elections in Tennessee[edit]

See also: Tennessee state executive official elections, 2014 and State executive official elections, 2014

The Tennessee gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Bill Haslam (R) won re-election.

Candidates[edit]

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Note: The filing deadline for candidates was April 3, 2014.

Governor[edit]

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Bill Haslam - Incumbent^[17]
Charles V. "Charlie" Brown^[12]
Shaun Crowell - former Libertarian candidate for United States Senate^[12]
Isa Infante^[12]
Daniel Lewis^[12] - appeared on the ballot as an Independent, though this was the subject of a lawsuit^[18]
Steve Coburn^[19]
John Jay Hooker^[12]

Lost in primary[edit]

Ron Noonan^[19]
Kennedy Spellman Johnson^[19]
William H. "John" McKamey - former Sullivan County Supervisor^[12]
Mark "Coonrippy" Brown - firearm dealer and YouTube personality^[20][21]
Donald Ray McFolin^[19]
Basil Marceaux, Sr. - perennial candidate^[12]

Disqualified[edit]

Mark Clayton - controversial former candidate for United States Senate^[19][22]
Jesse Gore^[12][23]
Jondavid Balunek^[12][23]
J. D. Ellis^[12][23]

Withdrawn[edit]

Ed Borum^[12][24]
Carl Twofeathers Whitaker - former independent gubernatorial candidate^[25][19][12]
Linda Perry^[19][12]

Declined[edit]

Craig Fitzhugh - Tennessee House Minority Leader^[26][27]
Sara Kyle - former director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.^[28][29]

State Senate[edit]

State Senate election in Tennessee[edit]

See also: Tennessee State Senate elections, 2014 and State legislative elections, 2014

Elections for 18 seats in the Tennessee State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 7, 2014. A general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 3, 2014.

Majority control[edit]

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Tennessee State Senate:

Tennessee State Senate
Party		As of November 3, 2014	After November 4, 2014
	Democratic Party	6	6
	Republican Party	26	27
	Vacancy	1	0
Total		33	33

List of candidates by district[edit]

Note: The filing deadline for candidates was April 3, 2014.

District 1 • District 3 • District 5 • District 7 • District 9 • District 11 • District 13 • District 15 • District 17 • District 19 • District 21 • District 23 • District 25 • District 27 • District 29 • District 31 • District 33

State House[edit]

State House elections in Tennessee[edit]

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2014 and State legislative elections, 2014

Elections for 99 seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 7, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 3, 2014.

Majority control[edit]

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Tennessee House of Representatives:

Tennessee House of Representatives
Party		As of November 3, 2014	After November 4, 2014
	Democratic Party	27	26
	Republican Party	71	73
	Carter County Republican	1	0
Total		99	99

List of candidates by district[edit]

Note: The filing deadline for candidates was April 3, 2014.

District 1 • District 2 • District 3 • District 4 • District 5 • District 6 • District 7 • District 8 • District 9 • District 10 • District 11 • District 12 • District 13 • District 14 • District 15 • District 16 • District 17 • District 18 • District 19 • District 20 • District 21 • District 22 • District 23 • District 24 • District 25 • District 26 • District 27 • District 28 • District 29 • District 30 • District 31 • District 32 • District 33 • District 34 • District 35 • District 36 • District 37 • District 38 • District 39 • District 40 • District 41 • District 42 • District 43 • District 44 • District 45 • District 46 • District 47 • District 48 • District 49 • District 50 • District 51 • District 52 • District 53 • District 54 • District 55 • District 56 • District 57 • District 58 • District 59 • District 60 • District 61 • District 62 • District 63 • District 64 • District 65 • District 66 • District 67 • District 68 • District 69 • District 70 • District 71 • District 72 • District 73 • District 74 • District 75 • District 76 • District 77 • District 78 • District 79 • District 80 • District 81 • District 82 • District 83 • District 84 • District 85 • District 86 • District 87 • District 88 • District 89 • District 90 • District 91 • District 92 • District 93 • District 94 • District 95 • District 96 • District 97 • District 98 • District 99

Statewide ballot measures[edit]

Statewide ballot measure elections in Tennessee[edit]

See also: Tennessee 2014 ballot measures and 2014 ballot measures

Four ballot measures were certified for the November 4, 2014 statewide ballot in Tennessee. The measures were legislatively referred constitutional amendments.

On the ballot[edit]

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November 4:

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Amendment 1	Abortion	Empower legislature to enact, amend or repeal statutes regarding abortion	a
LRCA	Amendment 2	Judiciary	Empower governor to appoint judges subject to confirmation by general assembly	a
LRCA	Amendment 3	Taxes	Prohibit the legislature from levying or permitting any tax upon payroll or earned personal income	a
LRCA	Amendment 4	Gambling	Empower the legislature to permit lotteries for events that benefit 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) organizations	a

Local ballot measures[edit]

Local ballot measure elections in Tennessee[edit]

See also: Local ballot measures, Tennessee and Local ballot measure elections in 2014

Elections by date[edit]

Click below for more information about local ballot measure elections on:

• August 7, 2014

...click here for more 2014 Tennessee local measures.

School boards[edit]

School board elections in Tennessee[edit]

See also: List of school board elections in 2014 and Tennessee school board elections, 2014

In 2014, 670 of America's largest school districts held elections for 2,188 seats. These elections took place in 37 states.

State elections[edit]

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A total of 20 Tennessee school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2014 for 87 seats. All 20 districts held elections on August 7, 2014.

Here are several quick facts about Tennessee's school board elections in 2014:

• An average of 1.94 candidates ran for each board seat up for election in 2014 in Tennessee’s largest school districts by enrollment, which was higher than the national average of 1.89 candidates per seat.
• 36.78 percent of the school board seats on the ballot in 2014 were unopposed. This was a higher percentage than the 32.57 percent of school board seats that were unopposed nationally.

• 70.11 percent of the incumbents whose seats were on the ballot ran for re-election in 2014, and they retained 52.87 percent of the total seats up for election.
• A total of 40 newcomers were elected to school boards in Tennessee. They took 45.98 percent of the total seats in 2014, which was higher than the 38.19 percent of school board seats that went to newcomers nationally.
• The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Shelby County Schools with 159,540 K-12 students.
• The smallest school district by enrollment with an election in 2014 was Washington County Schools with 9,199 K-12 students.
• Shelby County Schools had the most seats on the ballot in 2014 with seven seats up for election.
• Robertson County Schools had the fewest seats on the ballot in 2014 with two seats up for election.

The districts listed below served 609,121 K-12 students during the 2010-2011 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.^[30] Click on the district names for more information on the district and its school board elections.

2014 Tennessee School Board Elections
District	Date	Seats up for election	Total board seats	Student enrollment
Blount County Schools	8/7/2014	4	7	11,742
Bradley County Schools	8/7/2014	3	7	10,367
Clarksville-Montgomery County School System	8/7/2014	4	7	29,780
Hamblen County Schools	8/7/2014	4	7	9,966
Hamilton County Schools	8/7/2014	5	9	42,589
Jackson-Madison County School System	8/7/2014	5	9	13,094
Knox County Schools	8/7/2014	5	9	57,847
Maury County Schools	8/7/2014	6	11	11,713
Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools	8/7/2014	4	9	78,782
Putnam County Schools	8/7/2014	3	6	10,955
Robertson County Schools	8/7/2014	2	6	11,288
Rutherford County Schools	8/7/2014	4	7	38,846
Sevier County Schools	8/7/2014	3	5	14,581
Shelby County Schools	8/7/2014	7	9	159,540
Sullivan County Schools	8/7/2014	3	7	11,451
Sumner County Schools	8/7/2014	6	11	27,907
Tipton County Schools	8/7/2014	4	9	12,153
Washington County Schools	8/7/2014	6	9	9,199
Williamson County Schools	8/7/2014	6	12	31,616
Wilson County Schools	8/7/2014	3	5	15,705

Voting in Tennessee[edit]

See also: Voting in Tennessee

Important voting information[edit]

• A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Tennessee utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.^[31][32]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

• Tennessee does not permit online voter registration.

Voting absentee[edit]

See also: Absentee voting by state

For information about eligibility, deadlines, military and overseas voting and updates to the voting laws in Tennessee, please visit our absentee voting by state page.

Voting early[edit]

See also: Early voting

Tennessee is one of 34 states that has early voting with no specific requirements as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 20 days before Election Day and ends five days prior. The average number of days prior to an election that voters can cast an early ballot is 21 days in states with a definitive starting date.^[33]

Elections Performance Index[edit]

See also: Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index

Tennessee ranked 17th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2012 elections. The EPI examined election administration performance and assigned an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. These indicators were chosen in order to determine both the convenience and integrity of these three phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Tennessee received an overall score of 68 percent.^[34]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

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