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Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 6 Democratic primary)

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2022
2018
Tennessee's 5th Congressional District
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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
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
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
Tennessee's 5th Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th
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:

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 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
Image of Jim Cooper
Jim Cooper
 
57.1
 
50,752
Image of Keeda Haynes
Keeda Haynes Candidate Connection
 
39.9
 
35,472
Image of Joshua Rawlings
Joshua Rawlings Candidate Connection
 
3.0
 
2,681

Total votes: 88,905
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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.

Image of Jim Cooper

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

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.



Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.


"I want to be your humble public servant. I have a 95% Democratic voting record. 88% of Nashville-area Democrats approve of the job I'm doing. I will take the fight to Donald Trump every day, the worst president in American history. We have to end his tenure in November, we need an end to the Republican Senate, and we've got to keep the Democratic House."


"A lot of folks don't realize that legislation is a team sport. It's a team effort that gets good things to pass." 


“I’m about the only congressman in America who hands out his personal cell phone number so that people can get in direct touch all the time, even during COVID, because that’s what they want, to cut through red tape.”


In reference to his experience in Congress, Cooper said “When you are sick and go to the doctor, you want a brand new doctor who’s never practiced before? Or, do you want an experienced physician who actually has seen a lot of disease and knows how to treat it, and has a proven track record of doing a good job?”


Show sources

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Tennessee District 5 in 2020.

Image of Keeda Haynes

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

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. "


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


As a Public Defender, I advocated passionately on behalf of my clients every day in the courtroom. I stood up for them in the face of a racist system that sought to dehumanize and strip them of their dignity and basic rights. I was never afraid to address the hard issues and I refused to settle for anything less than a fair and just outcome.


I am running for Congress and I will take this same level of passion and determination to Washington to advocate on behalf of the community of District 5. I will stand alongside citizens, fighting daily for access to quality health care, affordable housing and criminal justice reform. I will provide them with equitable access in government decision making and will make sure their voices are heard.


For far too long, many people have felt locked out, left behind, abandoned and silenced by the government that was designed to reflect the public and govern in their interest. This District deserves someone who will fight for them...someone who will restore the power back to the community...someone who will truly fulfill the purpose of serving "We the People."

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Tennessee District 5 in 2020.

Image of Joshua Rawlings

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

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. "


Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.


The most pressing issue facing our nation is the corruptive influence of money on our political system. To make Congress a reflection of the community, we must get "Big Money" and corporate lobbyists out of politics. I will push to establish campaign spending caps, 12-year congressional term limits, and the reversal of Citizens United.


Healthcare is a human right. To secure this right, I support the creation of a free public healthcare option and policies that would make private insurance more affordable. We must pursue advances in healthcare quality and address the underlying causes of our extremely high healthcare costs.


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.

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
Jim has said the most important part of this year’s election is defeating Donald Trump. He has repeatedly said Trump is the worst President in U.S. history. Jim voted to impeach Donald Trump on December 18, 2019, making him only the third U.S. President ever to be formally impeached by the House of Representatives. Jim has spoken out against and opposed nearly all of the President’s policies including Trump’s: anti-immigrant agenda, rollbacks of Obama-era environmental policies, Planned Parenthood and Title X funding cuts, ban on transgender service members and removal of LGBTQ protections, crackdown on unions and collective bargaining, white nationalist agenda, SNAP cuts, attack on climate change, removal of oversight and Inspectors General, ignoring the rule of law, and more.

Economy & Jobs
We are fortunate to live in Nashville, which is brimming with creative people and opportunity and is home to one of the greatest immigrant communities in the nation. We need to keep our economy strong and continue investing in projects that create opportunities for everyone. Infrastructure is key to Nashville - and America’s - future. While Congress has been unable to agree on a long-term solution to properly fund our bridges and highways - many of which are in dire need of repair - Jim supports and has voted for funding of our critical infrastructure. Jim just voted for the largest infrastructure bill in America’s history - $1.5 trillion - which would fix our crumbling roads and bridges, modernize our schools, fund green new affordable housing, make water safer, and provide broadband to our neediest students. Nashville needs these jobs and investments.

Health Care
Jim believes health care is a fundamental human right and supports any solution that gets universal coverage. He taught health policy at Vanderbilt for more than two decades, and worked closely with President Obama in developing his Affordable Care Act. Jim proudly voted for the ACA - the largest expansion of health coverage in the U.S. in the last half century. Jim believes the fastest way to get universal health care right away is for Tennessee to expand Medicaid. Governor Lee has refused to implement a key part of the law that would further cover more than a quarter million Tennesseans and is rejecting $1 billion a year in free money in the process. The U.S Supreme court has upheld the health care law, and Jim continues to ask: “Morally, is it right to oppose Tennesseans having access to life-saving medical care?” Jim has repeatedly voted to protect and improve the ACA, and just voted for a bill that would expand subsidies to make ACA insurance more affordable for more people.

Environment
Jim believes in climate change and that human action is negatively impacting the environment. He was a leader on this issue well before others - he authored the 1990 cap-and-trade policy that regulated sulfur dioxide emissions and curbed acid rain. He has a strong environmental record with high lifetime ratings from major environmental organizations. Jim is a cosponsor of the Green New Deal, the 100% Clean Economy Act, which implements many of the Green New Deal’s initiatives, and the Climate Action Now Act. Jim opposes any new oil and gas leases in sensitive environmental areas. He has opposed every Trump rollback of Obama-era environmental protections. Jim supports a carbon tax, repealing tax breaks and subsidies given to the fossil fuel industry, and reinvesting in alternative energy development.

Budget
Jim believes that taming the deficit is an important issue facing America. Offering and generating support for his own bipartisan budget, Jim has been called “brave” by USA Today, for taking on the tough choices that lay ahead. And when Congress still refuses to deal with our fiscal challenges, Jim thinks they should not get paid! His bill “No Budget No Pay” became the law of the land in 2013, it was temporary but it worked. Jim has voted for trillions of dollars in emergency relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic to help struggling families, businesses, musicians, independent and gig economy workers, schools, and state and local governments.

Civil Rights
Jim believes that our cherished rights as Americans are for everyone. Voting rights, marriage equality, and the rights of women to make their own health decisions are among the issues that are key to progress in our state and our country.

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
Jim supports the LGBTQ+ community and cosponsored and voted for the Equality Act. He was one of the first members of Congress to oppose President Trump’s ban on transgender service members. He has supported efforts to stop discrimination against LGBTQ people in housing and credit lending markets and prohibiting sexual orientation and gender identity in adoption and foster care determinations. Jim has also joined his colleagues in several high profile court cases fighting for equal rights (Masterpiece Cakeshop, Gavin Grimm, and Obergefell). Jim also voted for the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act and voted to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Women’s Issues
Jim supports women and gender equality, as evidenced by his 100% rating from Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and the American Association for University Women. Most importantly, Jim supports women's reproductive choice and believes that the dated Hyde Amendment should be repealed. He has fought against President Trump and Republicans' repeated efforts to cut funding from Planned Parenthood and the Title X program, which serves predominantly low-income women of color. Jim has a strong record of voting against the domestic and global gag rules, which are harmful to women's health both in the U.S. and abroad. He has long-supported VAWA, the Paycheck Fairness Act, the Equal Rights Amendment, rights for pregnant women in the workplace, and expanded family leave. Jim also took a leading role in reforming sexual harassment policies in Congress and requested an investigation by the Government Accountability Office into the allegations of sexual assault and harassment at an NNSA facility in Nevada.

Defense & Veterans
Respected for his knowledge and objectivity, Jim is regarded as a “defense intellectual” in Congress. Jim is currently Chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, which oversees our space assets and nuclear arsenal. Jim supports our veterans and has a long track record of cutting through the red tape to help veterans get the benefits they have earned. He was one of the first in Congress to call for an investigation of long waiting lists and rogue employees at veterans’ hospitals.[26]

—Jim Cooper's campaign website (2020)[27]


Keeda Haynes

Haynes' campaign website stated the following:

Criminal Justice Reform[28]
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with 2.2 million people currently incarcerated in jails or prisons. The number continues to rise even as crime decreases.

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 minimums have been in place since the 1960s. After the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act, which added significant mandatory minimums for many federal crimes and abolished federal parole, the use of mandatory minimums grew. They became a standard response to the crack epidemic and crime spikes. What started as an attempt to impose uniformity became too restrictive, creating new disparities and injustices in the process.

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
More than 600,000 men and women are released from federal and state prisons each year. A criminal conviction brings with it a host of collateral consequences. In addition to affecting employment, these individuals may also be denied housing, education, government benefits and the right to vote.

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:

  • Eliminating mandatory minimum sentencing laws
  • Legalizing/descheduling marijuana on the federal level
  • Expunging convictions for those with marijuana convictions
  • Shifting resources to community-based alternatives programs instead of incarceration
  • Examining and addressing all policies and procedures that contribute to racial inequality at every stage of the criminal justice system.
  • Removing barriers to successful re-entry
  • Restoring voting rights for justice-impacted individuals
  • Restoring Pell grants in prison
  • Banning solitary confinement
  • Abolishing the death penalty
  • Alternative sentences to incarceration for primary care givers

Economic Justice[29]
Affordable Housing
Decent affordable housing is a fundamental basic right, but it is out of reach for far too many. The National Low-Income Housing Coalition stated that the 2019 national Housing Wage is $22.96 per hour for a two-bedroom rental home, or more than 3.1 times higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The 2017 Housing Wage for a one-bedroom rental home is $18.65, or 2.5 times higher than the federal minimum wage.

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
Stagnant income is another crisis of our time. The U.S. economy is nearly double what it was in 1980, but most families have nothing to show for it. Corporate profits as a share of our national income are at an all-time high, while wages are at a 65-year low. At the same time, it has been 10 years since Congress increased the federal minimum wage, the longest period in history.

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
At nearly $1.6 trillion, student loan debt is now the second highest consumer debt category, behind only mortgage debt, and exceeds debt for both car loans and credit cards. By anyone’s definition, this is a crisis. It is certainly a crisis for those of us repaying student loans, with repayment schedules that span decades of large monthly payments.

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:

  • Raising the federal minimum wage to at least $15 per hour for all workers
  • Implementing programs that provide job training and financial literacy for low income communities
  • Eliminating student loan debt
  • Eliminating student loan debt calculation as part of credit score
  • Eliminating student loans calculation in the debt to income ratio (dti) for housing loan purposes
  • Investing in communities that have been discriminated against due to racially discriminative policies and practices regarding home ownership
  • Putting in place a national cap on rent and home price increases
  • Increasing the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) budget so that it may increase rental assistance vouchers *and expand public housing
  • Allotting additional monies annually to the Housing Trust Fund to provide grants to states to build and rehabilitate houses for low income families and neighborhoods
  • H.R. 40 – the Study for Reparations
  • Providing additional funding and investment in HBCUs
  • Promoting diversity in the marijuana dispensary business
  • Reinvesting marijuana revenues back into communities adversely affected by the factious war on drugs

Healthcare Justice[30]
The healthcare crisis in America is real and has been an issue for many years. A recent [Gallup poll] revealed that three in 10 Americans forgo or defer treatment due to the high cost of healthcare. Continual delays in seeking medical services carry consequences that involve higher healthcare costs and poorer health outcomes.

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
The rural healthcare crisis is years in the making and increasingly getting worse. A range of issues including rural hospital closures and a growing physician shortage, is wreaking havoc not only on rural patients’ access to quality healthcare, but the economic well-being of their communities.

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
Prescription drug prices are out of control and can be crushing for patients. Nationally, out-of-pocket costs for some specialty drugs can run from $4,000 to more than $11,000 per year. Due to this, patients may either skip taking their medication or delay refilling the prescription.

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:

  • Quality, affordable healthcare for everyone regardless of income or pre-existing condition
  • A cap on prescription drug cost at a maximum of $200 a month
  • Elimination of copays, premiums and deductibles
  • Transparency regarding drug cost from drug companies
  • Competitive prescription drug costs
  • Every State expanding Medicaid

Environmental and Climate Justice[31]
Environmental and Climate Justice
In our communities, certain individuals and groups are at a higher risk of environmental threats. This is especially the case for low-income communities, the working class and people of color whose livelihoods and health may be impacted by waste disposal and pollution and other environmental hazards in their neighborhoods. This environmental injustice and environmental racism, where one group of people are exploited to benefit another, is prevalent all across our country. In the United States, it is estimated that a higher percentage of hazardous waste dumps are located in or near lower-income or minority communities. The issue of environmental justice can also be considered from a broader perspective of climate change. The just and fair treatment of all people and communities is essential in creating a more sustainable and healthier world where we all can live, and our children can grow and reach their full potential.

In Congress, I will support:

  • EPA standards for air quality in and around landfills
  • EPA standards to measure lead in drinking water in daycare and school systems and update infrastructure in public schools
  • Transparency regarding and the removal TCE (trichloroethylene), Lead and various other harmful chemicals in drinking water
  • Federal investment to renovate older water pipes
  • Policies and procedures to identify communities that are disproportionally affected by environmental hazards and social inequalities to direct resources and policy solutions to the impacted areas
  • Allocate funds to protect and benefit communities that have been historically overburdened by pollution
  • The creation of a large-scale funding program for comprehensive climate projects in communities impacted by environmental injustice
  • Measures to combat the current climate crisis through the Green New Deal

Immigration Justice[32]
Immigration Justice
Immigration is one of the fundamental building blocks that makes this nation unique. The United States for centuries has welcomed individuals from countries all over the world. As a country, we are at our best when we allow all individuals the opportunity to be successful and contribute to our communities. Unfortunately, our current broken immigration system is preventing millions of immigrants from doing so. When our government can deny due process and legal rights to immigrants, all of our rights are at risk. It is time that we had an immigration system that works and provides dignity and embodies our best values.

In Congress, I will support:

  • A path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented individuals currently living in the United States
  • Expanding the qualifications and expedite the process for asylum seekers
  • Ensuring due process and access to counsel for individuals facing deportation proceedings
  • Restore discretion to consider equities in each deportation case in an effort to keep families together.
  • Provide adequate bond hearings where the government has the burden of showing that detention is necessary.
  • Reducing the budget and number of ICE agents
  • Reducing the use of detention facilities for immigration enforcement
  • Regulations and enforcement procedures requiring detention facilities to provide humane treatment
  • Removing illegal reentry as a criminal conviction
  • Ending contracts with jails and for-profit prisons to act as detention facilities
  • Policies and procedures that will remove the use of ICE detainers without being granted due process

Gender Justice[33]
Despite great strides that have been made by the Women’s Rights movement, gender bias still creates huge barriers for women. Women still face hiring and salary discrimination, harassment and violence, institutional barriers to education. In the workplace, women earn about 78 cents for every dollar that men earn, and black women earn about 64 cents for every dollar that white men earn.

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:

  • Ending wage discrimination for women in the workplace
  • The removal of prior salary questions during the application process
  • Access to prenatal care for all pregnant women
  • Post-partum medical coverage for all women up to 12 months
  • Federal rights that mirror the Constitutional rights outlined in Roe v. Wade regardless of income
  • Preventing companies from denying contraception and abortions based upon religious beliefs
  • Policies and Procedures that reinforce the Pregnancy Discrimination Act
  • Providing free sanitary products
  • Paid leave for child and family care
  • Policies and procedures that support equal access to education for all women
  • Removing discriminatory policies against survivors of domestic abuse
  • Federal funding to help test untested rape kits
  • Providing breast pumps to all pregnant incarcerated women
  • Removing shackles from incarcerated women during the childbirth process.[26]

Joshua Rawlings

Rawlings' campaign website stated the following:

Kicking Corruption
The most pressing issue facing our nation is the corruptive influence of money on our political system. To make Congress a reflection of the community, we must get "Big Money" and corporate lobbyists out of politics. I will push to establish campaign spending caps, 12-year congressional term limits, and the reversal of Citizens United.

Universal Healthcare
Healthcare is a human right. To secure this right, I support the creation of a free public healthcare option and policies that would make private insurance more affordable. We must pursue advances in healthcare quality and address the underlying causes of our extremely high healthcare costs.

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."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.


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 trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe 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

See also: Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 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
Image of Jim Cooper
Jim Cooper (D)
 
67.8
 
177,923
Image of Jody Ball
Jody Ball (R)
 
32.2
 
84,317
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
8

Total votes: 262,248
Candidate Connection = 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
Image of Jim Cooper
Jim Cooper
 
100.0
 
70,480

Total votes: 70,480
Candidate Connection = 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.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jody Ball
Jody Ball
 
55.8
 
20,321
Glen Dean Candidate Connection
 
44.2
 
16,107

Total votes: 36,428
Candidate Connection = 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

2016

See also: Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 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]

U.S. House, Tennessee District 5 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJim Cooper Incumbent 62.6% 171,111
     Republican Stacy Ries Snyder 37.4% 102,433
Total Votes 273,544
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State


U.S. House, Tennessee District 5 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngStacy 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

See also: Tennessee's 5th Congressional District elections, 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.

U.S. House, Tennessee District 5 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJim 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
USA Tennessee location map.svg

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

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

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

Tennessee quick stats

More Tennessee coverage on Ballotpedia:


Demographic data for Tennessee
 TennesseeU.S.
Total population:6,595,056316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):41,2353,531,905
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

External links

Footnotes

  1. The Tennesseean, "Tennessee House Democratic Primary Results," accessed August 6, 2020
  2. 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. 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named wpln
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named tn
  5. CNN, "Convicted-felon-turned-public-defender Keeda Haynes is running for Congress in Tennessee," July 25, 2020
  6. CaseLaw, "United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit," October 20, 2006
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 FEC, "Campaign finance data," accessed July 29, 2020
  8. Jim Cooper 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed July 28, 2020
  9. Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on June 25, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
  10. Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on July 1, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
  11. Joshua Rawlings 2020 campaign website, "Joshua Rawlings for Congress," accessed July 29, 2020
  12. The Hill, "Liberal group backs primary challenger to Rep. Cooper in Tennessee," May 13, 2020
  13. 13.0 13.1 Facebook, "NPHC of Nashville," July 23, 2020
  14. 14.0 14.1 Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on June 25, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
  15. 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.
  16. Jim Cooper 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed July 28, 2020
  17. Facebook, "Keeda Haynes on July 23, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
  18. Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on May 14, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
  19. Twitter, "Indivisible on June 14, 2020," accessed July 29, 2020
  20. Jim Cooper 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed July 28, 2020
  21. Jim Cooper 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed July 28, 2020
  22. Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on July 1, 2020," accessed July 28, 2020
  23. Twitter, "Keeda Haynes on January 6, 2020," accessed July 29, 2020]
  24. FEC, "Statement of Candidacy," September 6, 2019]
  25. Tennessean, "Nashville U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper to run for re-election in 2020," December 18, 2018]
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  27. Jim Cooper 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 27, 2020
  28. Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Criminal Justice Reform," accessed July 27, 2020
  29. Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Economic Justice," accessed July 27, 2020
  30. Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Healthcare Justice," accessed July 27, 2020
  31. Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Environmental and Climate Justice," accessed July 27, 2020
  32. Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Immigration Justice," accessed July 27, 2020
  33. Keeda Haynes 2020 campaign website, "Gender Justice," accessed July 27, 2020
  34. Joshua Rawlings 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 27, 2020
  35. LexisNexis, "Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-7-115," accessed July 16, 2025
  36. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  37. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  38. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  39. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  40. Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  41. FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  42. Tennessee Secretary of State, "Candidate Petitions Filed as of April 7, 2016 Noon Qualifying Deadline," accessed April 8, 2016
  43. Politico, "Tennessee House Primaries Results," August 4, 2016
  44. CNN, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2016


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
John Rose (R)
District 7
Vacant
District 8
District 9
Republican Party (9)
Democratic Party (1)
Vacancies (1)