Tennessee's 7th Congressional District election, 2016
2018 →
← 2014
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November 8, 2016 |
August 4, 2016 |
Marsha Blackburn  |
Marsha Blackburn |
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Cook Political Report: Solid R[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R[2] Rothenberg & Gonzales: Safe R[3] |
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The 7th Congressional District of Tennessee held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2016.
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Marsha Blackburn (R) defeated Tharon Chandler (D) and Leonard Ladner (independent) in the general election on November 8, 2016. No candidate in the race faced a primary opponent in August.[4][5][6]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Tennessee utilizes a closed primary process; 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.[7]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Incumbent: Heading into the election, the incumbent was Marsha Blackburn (R), who was first elected in 2002.
As of the 2010 redistricting cycle, the 7th District was located in the southwestern and middle regions of Tennessee. It bordered the states of Kentucky in the north and Mississippi and Alabama in the south. Chester, Decatur, Giles, Hardeman, Hardin, Henderson, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lawrence, Lewis, McNairy, Montgomery, Perry, Stewart, Wayne, and Williamson counties, as well as areas of Benton and Maury counties, were included in the district.
Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Marsha Blackburn Incumbent |
72.2% | 200,407 | |
| Democratic | Tharon Chandler | 23.5% | 65,226 | |
| Independent | Leonard Ladner | 4.3% | 11,880 | |
| Total Votes | 277,513 | |||
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State | ||||
Candidates
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General election candidates: Marsha Blackburn   Tharon Chandler Leonard Ladner |
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Primary candidates:[8] |
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Democratic |
Republican |
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Third Party/Other |
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Withdrew: Travis Page (Independent)[4] |
District history
2014
Incumbent Marsha Blackburn (R) won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. She defeated Dan Cramer (D) and Lenny Ladner (independent) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Marsha Blackburn Incumbent |
70% | 110,498 | |
| Democratic | Dan Cramer | 26.8% | 42,260 | |
| Independent | Lenny Ladner | 3.2% | 5,092 | |
| Total Votes | 157,850 | |||
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State | ||||
2012
The 7th Congressional District of Tennessee held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Marsha Blackburn (R) won re-election in the district.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Credo Amouzouvik | 24% | 61,679 | |
| Republican | Marsha Blackburn Incumbent |
71% | 182,730 | |
| Green | Howard Switzer | 1.8% | 4,640 | |
| Independent | William Akin | 1.1% | 2,740 | |
| Independent | Jack Arnold | 1.7% | 4,256 | |
| Independent | Lenny Ladner | 0.5% | 1,261 | |
| Total Votes | 257,306 | |||
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
Important dates and deadlines
- See also: Tennessee elections, 2016
The calendar below listed important dates for political candidates in Tennessee in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
| December 1, 2015 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for presidential primary candidates | |
| February 23, 2016 | Campaign finance | Pre-primary campaign financial disclosure reports for March county primary due | |
| March 1, 2016 | Election date | Presidential preference primary election | |
| April 7, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for partisan primary candidates and independent general election candidates | |
| April 11, 2016 | Campaign finance | First quarter campaign financial disclosure reports due | |
| April 26, 2016 | Campaign finance | Pre-primary campaign financial disclosure reports for May primary due | |
| May 3, 2016 | Election date | County primary election (if applicable) | |
| July 11, 2016 | Campaign finance | Second quarter campaign financial disclosure reports due | |
| July 28, 2016 | Campaign finance | Pre-primary campaign financial disclosure reports for August primary due | |
| July 28, 2016 | Campaign finance | Pre-general campaign financial disclosure reports for August general due | |
| August 4, 2016 | Election date | State primary and county general election (if applicable) | |
| October 11, 2016 | Campaign finance | Third quarter campaign financial disclosure reports due | |
| November 1, 2016 | Campaign finance | Pre-general campaign financial disclosure reports for November general due | |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
| January 25, 2017 | Campaign finance | Fourth quarter campaign financial disclosure reports due | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State, "2016 Election Calendar," accessed June 12, 2015 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2016
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2016 House Race Ratings for July 11, 2016," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2016 House," accessed July 18, 2016
- ↑ Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, "House Ratings," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 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
- ↑ LexisNexis, "Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-7-115," accessed July 16, 2025
- ↑ Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map, Tennessee"
For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!
