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Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 6 Democratic primary)
- Primary date: Aug. 6
- Primary type: Open
- Registration deadline(s): July 7
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: No
- Early voting starts: July 17
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Aug. 6 (received)
- Voter ID: Photo ID
- Poll times: Varies by locality
2022 →
← 2018
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| Tennessee's 5th Congressional District |
|---|
 |
| Democratic primary Republican primary General election |
| Election details |
| Filing deadline: April 2, 2020 |
| Primary: August 6, 2020 General: November 3, 2020 Pre-election incumbent: Jim Cooper (Democratic) |
| How to vote |
| Poll times: Varies by county Voting in Tennessee |
| Race ratings |
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020 |
| See also |
U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th Tennessee elections, 2020 U.S. Congress elections, 2020 U.S. Senate elections, 2020 U.S. House elections, 2020 |
Incumbent Jim Cooper defeated Keeda Haynes and Joshua Rawlings in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District Democratic primary on August 6, 2020. With 52 percent of precincts reporting at 8:35 p.m. CDT, Cooper received 56.6 percent of the vote to Haynes' 40.8 percent and Rawlings' 2.6 percent.[1] Three candidates, Justin Bautista-Jones, Meredith Mattlin, and Joshua Moran, withdrew from the race before election day. Leading up to the primary, the Tennessee Lookout wrote, “The fiscally conservative Blue Dog, who has been in Congress all but eight years since 1983 […] faces activist and lawyer Keeda Haynes” and Joshua Rawlings. [2]
Jim Cooper has represented the district since 2003 and is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition. He said he is a bipartisan legislator who can win Republican votes, while also telling the Tennessean “‘I've been so progressive I've been shy of talking about it,’ [...] pointing to his 2010 vote for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.”[3][4] Cooper said his platform priorities included “his opposition to President Donald Trump,” “the economy, addressing systemic racism and health care.”[2]
Keeda Haynes was a public defender in Nashville for six and a half years before working as a legal advisor at Free Hearts, a nonprofit organization supporting formerly incarcerated women. Before earning her law degree, Haynes was incarcerated on charges of aiding and abetting a conspiracy to distribute marijuana, on which she maintains her innocence, and spent over three years in prison after appealing her sentence.[5][6] Haynes’ platform included changes to the criminal justice system, Medicare for all, and expanding access to below-market rate housing.[4]
Joshua Rawlings is a businessman who runs a software company. In 2014, he ran for the Tennessee House of Representatives as a Republican. His platform included expanding regulations on satellite spending, universal healthcare, the environment, and improving education.[4]
As of July 17, Cooper led in fundraising with almost $700,000, followed by Haynes with $100,000, and Joshua Rawlings with $20,000.[7] Cooper counted the Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the American Federation of Government Employees among his noteworthy endorsements, while Haynes had the support of Our Revolution and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.[8][9][10] As of July 29, Rawlings had not received any noteworthy endorsements.[11]
Major independent outlets rated the race as safely Democratic. The district has not had a Republican representative since 1875.[12] Incumbent Jim Cooper had not faced a primary challenge in the past ten years of his seventeen year tenure as representative.[3]
Click here to learn more about what's at stake in the general election.
Click on candidate names below to view their key messages:
 Cooper |
 Haynes |
 Rawlings |
This page focuses on Tennessee's 5th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 6 Republican primary)
- Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 2020
Election procedure changes in 2020
Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.
Tennessee made no changes to its primary election.
For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.
Election updates
- July 23, 2020: Cooper, Haynes, and Rawlings participated in a candidate forum hosted by the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Nashville.[13]
- July 15, 2020: July quarterly campaign finance filing deadline with the Federal Election Commission. Cooper had $692,193 in total fundraising and $613,740 in cash on hand, Haynes had $101,250 in total fundraising and $52,282 in cash on hand, and Rawlings had $20,023 in total fundraising and -$36 in cash on hand. [7]
- June 28, 2020: Our Revolution endorsed Keeda Haynes.[14]
For older updates, click here.
Candidates and election results
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 5
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jim Cooper | 57.1 | 50,752 |
 | Keeda Haynes  | 39.9 | 35,472 | |
 | Joshua Rawlings | 3.0 | 2,681 | |
| Total votes: 88,905 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Joshua Moran (D)
- Justin Bautista-Jones (D)
- Meredith Page (D)
Candidate profiles
This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[15] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: Yes
Political Office:
U.S. House Tennessee District 5 (Assumed office: 2003). U.S. House Tennessee District 4 (1983-1995).
Biography: Cooper was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He earned his B.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, in 1976, his M.A. from Oxford University in 1977, and his J.D. from Harvard University in 1980. Cooper worked as an attorney and adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University before entering public service.
Show sources
Sources: Facebook, "NPHC Forum Candidates for US Congress!," July 23, 2020. Tennessean, "For first time in a decade, US Rep. Jim Cooper faces Democratic primary challenge," July 13, 2020. WPLN News, "A Former Public Defender And A Business Owner Try To Unseat U.S. Rep. Cooper," July 20, 2020. WSMV, "Decision 2020: Three candidates vying for Democratic nomination for 5th Congressional District," July 15, 2020; Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, "COOPER, James Hayes Shofner, (1954 - )," accessed July 29, 2020.
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Tennessee District 5 in 2020.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I am the Legal Advisor at Free Hearts, a Non-Profit Organization. Prior to that, I served my community for the past 6 ½ years as an Assistant Public Defender. I devoted all of my determination, energy and passion into fighting for my clients.
I understood the inequalities that my clients were facing because I had also been a defendant. For my alleged involvement in a drug distribution ring, I spent almost four years in federal prison for a crime I did not commit. Eventually I was resentenced to the mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and finally released on December 1, 2006.
Two years after my release, I enrolled into law school at the Nashville School of Law. I graduated in 2012, passed the bar exam but had to clear the character and fitness examination. After a show cause hearing I was cleared to become an attorney in Nashville in December of 2012. I've received several awards and I'm very active in my community as the Legal Advisor with Free Hearts. I continue to advocate on the behalf of my clients and the community, regarding criminal justice reform, incarcerated women's rights, voter restoration and other issues. "
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Tennessee District 5 in 2020.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "I'm a musician, small business owner, and candidate for U.S. House TN-5. I'm dedicated to reforming our gov't... and baseball. "
This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Tennessee District 5 in 2020.
Noteworthy primary endorsements
This section includes noteworthy endorsements issued in the primary, added as we learn about them. Click here to read how we define noteworthy primary endorsements. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please email us.
| Democratic primary endorsements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | Cooper | Haynes | Rawlings | |||
| Organizations | ||||||
| American Federation of Government Employees[16] | ✔ | |||||
| The Collective PAC[17] | ✔ | |||||
| Democracy for America[18] | ✔ | |||||
| Indivisible[19] | ✔ | |||||
| Launching Educational Assistance Programs Forward, Inc.[20] | ✔ | |||||
| Our Revolution[14] | ✔ | |||||
| Planned Parenthood Action Fund[21] | ✔ | |||||
| Progressive Change Campaign Committee[22] | ✔ | |||||
Timeline
2020
2019
2018
Campaign themes
- See also: Campaign themes
Jim Cooper
Cooper's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Opposing Trump Economy & Jobs Health Care Environment Budget Civil Rights Jim has been fighting for racial justice and equity throughout his tenure in Congress and has a 100% rating from the Leadership Council on Civil Rights and the NAACP. He is fighting to end systemic racism, which means not just changes in the criminal justice system and policing, but in things like health care, employment, education, and voting rights. Jim has said the Black Lives Matter Movement is one of those hinge moments in American history and the hinge is swinging in the right direction - toward more equality, more justice, and more fairness. Jim believes policing must be restructured and reformed. He cosponsored and voted for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which mandates national standards on police departments across the country and bans chokeholds, no-knock warrants, qualified immunity for police, and police officers committing murder in one district then getting a job in another district. Jim supports our four amazing HBCUs - Fisk, American Baptist, Meharry, and TSU - and has supported permanent HBCU funding, expanded Pell Grants, and student loan forgiveness to make it easier for kids to get an education. Tennessee used to be one of the best but now is one of the worst, most anti-voting states in America. Jim has been leading the fight against our Secretary of State for years to stop voter disenfranchisement and make it easier to vote. One of Jim’s top priorities has been expanding Medicaid. The Tennessee legislature has refused to expand Medicaid, and get health care to more than a quarter million Tennesseans. This is one of the easiest things we can do to get to universal health coverage in Tennessee. We shouldn’t have needed any reminders that health outcomes, life expectancy, infant mortality vary drastically across our Nashville community, but COVID-19 has highlighted those. Jim has also been fighting to address these racial health disparities in our communities. LGBTQ+ Rights Women’s Issues Defense & Veterans |
” |
| —Jim Cooper's campaign website (2020)[27] | ||
Keeda Haynes
Haynes' campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Criminal Justice Reform[28] During the “War on Drugs” era, sentencing policies were introduced that resulted in more people being incarcerated and for longer periods of time. Also, during this period, those incarcerated for drug offenses skyrocketed. Harsh penalties, like the mandatory minimum sentencing laws, and “truth in sentencing” policies, which abandoned parole in the federal system, have keep people in prison with long sentences, contributing to mass incarceration. Furthermore, mass incarceration does not affect all communities equally, as evidenced right here in Nashville. Our very own zip code 37208, which encompasses the North Nashville area, has the highest incarceration rate in the United States. Today, while people of color make up 37 percent of the U.S. population, the same demographic represents 67 percent of the prison population. Overall, African Americans are more likely to be stopped, arrested, convicted and receive stiff sentences, compared to their white counterparts. Being a former public defender as well as someone who was also formerly incarcerated, I have extensive criminal justice knowledge and I know how the system works. Using this firsthand experience, I will work to dismantle the criminal justice system by fighting to end mass incarceration, repeal mandatory minimum sentences, remove barriers to successful re-entry and any other policy or procedure that disproportionally affects the black, brown and low-income communities. Repealing Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws Mandatory minimum sentencing laws require judges to give all offenders convicted of a certain crime the same punishment. Judges are not allowed to consider any special facts or unique circumstances, when sentencing an individual. The adoption of mandatory minimums has not led to a fairer, more just system. In fact, it’s had the opposite effect. By tying judges’ hands, mandatory minimums have effectively taken away power from judges and given it to prosecutors who in turn, threaten to charge defendants with crimes that “trigger” a mandatory minimum. Facing a significant long sentence from which there’s no other escape, defendants often feel coerced into pleading guilty to crimes they may not have committed. Mandatory minimum sentences result in lengthy, excessive time, directly contributing to mass incarceration. Barriers to Successful Re-entry Felony disenfranchisement policies have a disproportionate effect on Black communities. African Americans of voting age are more than four times as likely to lose their voting rights than the rest of the adult population. In Tennessee alone, more than one in five Black adults are disenfranchised. In total, 2.2 million Black citizens are banned from voting. Denying the right to vote to an entire class of citizens is deeply problematic to our democratic society and is counterproductive to effective re-entry. The current policies and procedures in place are ineffective. But before we can talk about steps for successful re-entry, we must first make sure that success is actually an option for those who have been formally incarcerated. We must ensure policies and procedures that are adopted and embraced represent a “Second Chance Culture”, one that sees the value in people, doesn’t define them by their past and envisions a prolonged commitment to the successful reintegration of people impacted by incarceration. In Congress, I will support:
Economic Justice[29] Over the past few years, these numbers have become a stark reality for the citizens of District 5. Recently, a study concluded that in the next few years, Nashville will be more than 30,000 housing units short for its growing population. Further, there has been a significant rise in working individuals who are struggling to make ends meet due to rising rent and mortgage costs. The area median income for Nashville is around $56,000, but a single person should only be paying 30 percent of that towards rent. But finding a one-bedroom apartment in Nashville to rent for less than $1,000 a month has become extremely difficult. The average family of four makes around $75,000 and is paying too much for rent or mortgage payments, causing the quality of living to decrease significantly. Unaffordable housing drives poor people deeper into poverty, depriving them of other necessities, and limiting their chances of rebounding. Before we can have serious conversations about living options, we must first make sure housing is affordable…and right now, it isn’t. As we contend with this affordability housing crisis, the time to act is now to ensure that all Americans have access to safe, stable and affordable housing. Living Wage The current $7.25 minimum hourly rate was set in 2009, during the Great Recession. Since then, America’s lowest-paid workers have lost about $3,000 a year, considering the rising cost of living, according to calculations from the Economic Policy Institute. Pay has fallen so far that today nearly four in 10 American workers struggle on less than $31,200 a year, which translates to $15 an hour for a full-time employment. Raising the minimum wage is one of the best tools we have to lift incomes and grow our economy. No one who works a fulltime job should have to live in or near poverty. Student Loans Unfortunately, this debt is on a trajectory to grow much larger in the future. By 2021, the student loan debt is projected to balloon to $2 trillion. Today, more than two-thirds of college graduates have student debt, compared with less than 50 percent in the early 1990s. Then, the average debt was $9,000; now it’s $30,000. The typical monthly bill is nearly $400. As the student loan debt rises, homeownership rates are falling. For every 10 percent in student loan debt a person holds, their chance of home ownership drops 1 to 2 percentage points during their first five years after school, according to the Federal Reserve. More than 80 percent of people age 22 to 35 with student debt who haven’t yet bought a house blame their educational debt as a factor, according to the National Association of Realtors. We are long overdue for genuine, transformative reform. In Congress, I will support:
Healthcare Justice[30] We cannot afford to wait any longer to address this issue. There is an urgent need to find solutions to our healthcare crisis now. Rural Healthcare Crisis Families in communities have a harder time accessing quality healthcare, with services in remote communities much more limited than in denser metro areas. The wave of rural hospital closures is now exacerbating the problem – putting rural communities at serious risk of becoming “health hazard zones.” Rural communities deserve access to high quality healthcare and adequate funding for healthcare programs and infrastructure. It is time to start taking action on the issues facing rural Americans because their lives and livelihoods depend on it. Prescription Drug Costs We must break the monopoly pricing power of the drug corporations and change the laws to restore competitive pricing and speed generics to market. And we need transparency in pricing from the drug companies and the pharmacy benefit received from insurers so we can see who is getting rich at the expense of people fighting deadly diseases. In Congress, I will support:
Environmental and Climate Justice[31] In Congress, I will support:
Immigration Justice[32] In Congress, I will support:
Gender Justice[33] Additionally, women constantly face attacks on their reproductive rights. Every woman has the right to safe and easy access to basic reproductive care. While these rights are protected by the Constitution, lawmakers want to turn back the hands of time and outlaw abortion and deny women access to reproductive care. In Congress, I will support:
|
” |
Joshua Rawlings
Rawlings' campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Kicking Corruption Universal Healthcare Environmental Leadership Climate change is here, it's real, and we need to act now. It's time to unlock America's Environmental Leadership and achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2040. Changes in the ways in which we produce energy, conduct business, and invest tax-dollars are required to curb the worst effects of climate change. Our pivot to a clean economy will unlock innovation and create millions of high paying jobs. Equal Education Every child deserves a world-class education. Neither zip code nor income should predict a person's quality of education. To make American primary education the best in the world, we must pay teachers what they deserve and reduce class sizes. Justice for All The United States has 5% of the global population and 25% of the prison population. American citizens are imprisoned at a higher rate than anyone else on Earth. I will push Congress to end mandatory minimum sentencing, return voting rights to ex-felons, recognize addiction as a disease, and take measures to implement implicit bias training for police officers. We must abolish private prisons and offer productive opportunities for those incarcerated.[26] |
” |
| —Joshua Rawlings' campaign website (2020)[34] | ||
Campaign finance
The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Cooper | Democratic Party | $939,747 | $1,335,309 | $272,934 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Keeda Haynes | Democratic Party | $155,726 | $146,773 | $8,953 | As of December 31, 2020 |
| Joshua Rawlings | Democratic Party | $20,023 | $16,526 | $-36 | As of July 17, 2020 |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
Debates and forums
July 23 forum
On July 23, Cooper, Haynes, and Rawlings participated in a virtual forum hosted by the National Pan-Hellenic Council of Nashville.[13]
Primaries in Tennessee
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; a voter must either be registered with a political party or must declare his or affiliation with the party at the polls on primary election day in order to vote in that party's primary.[35]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
What's at stake in the general election?
U.S. House elections were held on November 3, 2020, and coincided with the 2020 presidential election. All 435 House districts were up for election, and the results determined control of the U.S. House in the 117th Congress.
At the time of the election, Democrats had a 232-197 advantage over Republicans. There was one Libertarian member, and there were five vacancies. Republicans needed to gain a net 21 seats to win control of the House. Democrats needed to gain seats or lose fewer than 14 net seats to keep their majority.
In the 2018 midterm election, Democrats had a net gain of 40 seats, winning a 235-200 majority in the House. Heading into the 2018 election, Republicans had a 235-193 majority with seven vacancies.
In the 25 previous House elections that coincided with a presidential election, the president's party had gained House seats in 16 elections and lost seats in nine. In years where the president's party won districts, the average gain was 18. In years where the president's party lost districts, the average loss was 27. Click here for more information on presidential partisanship and down-ballot outcomes.
General election race ratings
- See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:
- Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
- Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
- Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[36]
- Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.
Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[37][38][39]
| Race ratings: Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 2020 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race tracker | Race ratings | ||||||||
| November 3, 2020 | October 27, 2020 | October 20, 2020 | October 13, 2020 | ||||||
| The Cook Political Report | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | Solid Democratic | |||||
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | Safe Democratic | |||||
| Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season. | |||||||||
District analysis
- See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
- See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores
The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+7, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 7 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Tennessee's 5th Congressional District the 152nd most Democratic nationally.[40]
FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.88. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.88 points toward that party.[41]
District election history
2018
General election
General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 5
Incumbent Jim Cooper defeated Jody Ball in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 5 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jim Cooper (D) | 67.8 | 177,923 |
 | Jody Ball (R) | 32.2 | 84,317 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 8 | ||
| Total votes: 262,248 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 5
Incumbent Jim Cooper advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 5 on August 2, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jim Cooper | 100.0 | 70,480 |
| Total votes: 70,480 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 5
Jody Ball defeated Glen Dean in the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 5 on August 2, 2018.
| Total votes: 36,428 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Chaz Allison (R)
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Jim Cooper (D) defeated Stacy Ries Snyder (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Cooper faced no primary opposition, while Snyder defeated Jody Ball and John Smith in the Republican primary. The primary elections took place on August 4, 2016.[42][43][44]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Jim Cooper Incumbent |
62.6% | 171,111 | |
| Republican | Stacy Ries Snyder | 37.4% | 102,433 | |
| Total Votes | 273,544 | |||
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Stacy Ries Snyder |
50.8% | 7,666 | ||
| John Smith | 28.5% | 4,295 | ||
| Jody Ball | 20.7% | 3,124 | ||
| Total Votes | 15,085 | |||
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State |
||||
2014
Incumbent Jim Cooper won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. He defeated Bob Ries and independent Paul Deakin in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jim Cooper Incumbent |
62.3% | 95,635 | |
| Republican | Bob Ries | 35.8% | 54,939 | |
| Independent | Paul Deakin | 2% | 3,032 | |
| Total Votes | 153,606 | |||
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Vote totals above are unofficial and will be updated once official totals are made available. | ||||
State profile
- See also: Tennessee and Tennessee elections, 2020
Partisan data
The information in this section was current as of July 27, 2020.
Presidential voting pattern
- Tennessee voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Congressional delegation
- Following the 2018 elections, both U.S. Senators from Tennessee were Republican.
- Tennessee had two Democratic and seven Republican U.S. Representatives.
State executives
- Republicans held five of Tennessee's 18 state executive offices. Elections for the other offices are nonpartisan.
- Tennessee's governor was Republican Bill Lee.
State legislature
- Republicans controlled the Tennessee State Senate with a 28-5 majority.
- Republicans controlled the Tennessee House of Representatives with a 73-26 majority.
Tennessee Party Control: 1992-2024
Five years of Democratic trifectas • Fourteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | S | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
|
|
| Demographic data for Tennessee | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 6,595,056 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 41,235 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 77.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 16.8% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 4.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85.5% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 24.9% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $45,219 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 21.4% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Tennessee. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
See also
- Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 6 Republican primary)
- Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 2020
- United States House elections in Tennessee, 2020 (August 6 Democratic primaries)
- United States House elections in Tennessee, 2020 (August 6 Republican primaries)
- United States House Democratic Party primaries, 2020
- United States House Republican Party primaries, 2020
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2020
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2020
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Tennesseean, "Tennessee House Democratic Primary Results," accessed August 6, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Tennessee Lookout, "The Blue Dog vs. the underdog: facing an activist challenger, Cooper makes appeal to “gettable” conservatives," July 23, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedwpln - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedtn - ↑ CNN, "Convicted-felon-turned-public-defender Keeda Haynes is running for Congress in Tennessee," July 25, 2020
- ↑ CaseLaw, "United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit," October 20, 2006
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 FEC, "Campaign finance data," accessed July 29, 2020
- ↑ Jim Cooper 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed July 28, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on June 25, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on July 1, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
- ↑ Joshua Rawlings 2020 campaign website, "Joshua Rawlings for Congress," accessed July 29, 2020
- ↑ The Hill, "Liberal group backs primary challenger to Rep. Cooper in Tennessee," May 13, 2020
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Facebook, "NPHC of Nashville," July 23, 2020
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on June 25, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
- ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
- ↑ Jim Cooper 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed July 28, 2020
- ↑ Facebook, "Keeda Haynes on July 23, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on May 14, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Indivisible on June 14, 2020," accessed July 29, 2020
- ↑ Jim Cooper 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed July 28, 2020
- ↑ Jim Cooper 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed July 28, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on July 1, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
- ↑ Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on January 6, 2020," accessed July 29, 2020]
- ↑ FEC, "Statement of Candidacy," September 6, 2019]
- ↑ Tennessean, "Nashville U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper to run for re-election in 2020," December 18, 2018]
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Jim Cooper 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 27, 2020
- ↑ Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Criminal Justice Reform," accessed July 27, 2020
- ↑ Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Economic Justice," accessed July 27, 2020
- ↑ Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Healthcare Justice," accessed July 27, 2020
- ↑ Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Environmental and Climate Justice," accessed July 27, 2020
- ↑ Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Immigration Justice," accessed July 27, 2020
- ↑ Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Gender Justice," accessed July 27, 2020
- ↑ Joshua Rawlings 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 27, 2020
- ↑ LexisNexis, "Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-7-115," accessed July 16, 2025
- ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
- ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
- ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Candidate Petitions Filed as of April 7, 2016 Noon Qualifying Deadline," accessed April 8, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Tennessee House Primaries Results," August 4, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2016
