Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2026

← 2024
Tennessee's 8th Congressional District
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 10, 2026
Primary: August 6, 2026 General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times: Varies by county Voting in Tennessee
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican DDHQ and The Hill: Pending Inside Elections: Solid Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Tennessee's 8th Congressional District U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th Tennessee elections, 2026 U.S. Congress elections, 2026 U.S. Senate elections, 2026 U.S. House elections, 2026 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House raceArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House raceFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House raceOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House raceTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House raceVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House raceSubmit

All U.S. House districts, including the 8th Congressional District of Tennessee, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is August 6, 2026. The filing deadline is March 10, 2026. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

• Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 6 Democratic primary)
• Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 6 Republican primary)

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

• Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
• Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

General election

The primary will occur on August 6, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

William Wicker is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 6, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	William Wicker

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 6, 2026.

		Candidate
		David Kustoff

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Tennessee

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
David Kustoff	Republican Party	$1,246,946	$605,909	$2,700,498	As of September 30, 2025
William Wicker	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. 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. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

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.
• 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.

Race ratings: Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	12/16/2025	12/9/2025	12/2/2025	11/25/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Pending	Pending	Pending	Pending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Tennessee in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Tennessee, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Tennessee	U.S. House	All candidates	25	N/A	3/10/2026	Source

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

• 2024
• 2022
• 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff (R) defeated Sarah Freeman (D) and James Hart (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff (R)	72.3	240,411
		Sarah Freeman (D)	25.6	85,043
		James Hart (Independent)	2.1	6,861

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 332,315
= 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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Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Sarah Freeman (D) defeated Brenda Woods (D), Lynnette Williams (D), Leonard Perkins (D), and Lawrence Pivnick (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Freeman	33.7	5,552
	Submit photo	Brenda Woods	27.8	4,580
	Submit photo	Lynnette Williams	17.5	2,887
		Leonard Perkins	13.1	2,160
		Lawrence Pivnick	7.8	1,279

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,458
= 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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Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff	100.0	55,809

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 55,809
= 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

• George Flinn Jr. (R)

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff (R) defeated Lynnette Williams (D), James Hart (Independent), and Ronnie Henley (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff (R)	74.0	155,602
	Submit photo	Lynnette Williams (D)	24.3	51,102
		James Hart (Independent)	1.2	2,541
		Ronnie Henley (Independent)	0.5	1,070

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 210,315
= 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Lynnette Williams (D) defeated Tim McDonald (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 4, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Lynnette Williams	63.3	15,819
		Tim McDonald	36.7	9,187

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,006
= 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

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff (R) defeated Bob Hendry (R), Danny Bridger Jr. (R), and Dean Clouse (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 4, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff	83.7	69,538
		Bob Hendry	8.4	6,990
		Danny Bridger Jr.	5.1	4,233
		Dean Clouse	2.8	2,291

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 83,052
= 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.

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff (R) defeated Erika Stotts Pearson (D), James Hart (Independent), and Jon Dillard (Independent) in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff (R)	68.5	227,216
		Erika Stotts Pearson (D)	29.5	97,890
		James Hart (Independent)	1.1	3,763
		Jon Dillard (Independent)	0.9	2,984

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 331,853
= 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Erika Stotts Pearson (D) defeated Savannah Williamson (D), Lawrence Pivnick (D), and Hollis Skinner (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Erika Stotts Pearson	51.1	14,510
	Submit photo	Savannah Williamson	20.4	5,788
		Lawrence Pivnick	16.5	4,685
	Submit photo	Hollis Skinner	11.9	3,389

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,372 (100% precincts reporting)
= 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

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff	100.0	70,677

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 70,677
= 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.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

• District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
• Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
• Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
• State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

• District map
• Competitiveness
• Presidential elections
• State party control

Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026

Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+21. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 21 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Tennessee's 8th the 30th most Republican district nationally.

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Tennessee's 8th Congressional District

Kamala Harris	Donald Trump
29.0%	70.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Tennessee, 2024

Tennessee presidential election results (1900-2024)

• 15 Democratic wins
• 17 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024
Winning Party	D	D	D	D	D	R	D	R	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

See also: Party control of Tennessee state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Tennessee's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Tennessee
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	1	1
Republican	2	7	9
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	1	1
Total	2	9	11

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Tennessee's top three state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Tennessee, October 2025

Office	Officeholder
Governor	Bill Lee
Secretary of State	Tre Hargett
Attorney General	Jonathan Skrmetti

State legislature

Tennessee State Senate

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	6
	Republican Party	27
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		33

Tennessee House of Representatives

Party		As of October 2025
	Democratic Party	24
	Republican Party	75
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		99

Trifecta control

Tennessee Party Control: 1992-2025
Five years of Democratic trifectas  •  Fifteen 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

See also

Tennessee	2026 primaries	2026 U.S. Congress elections
Tennessee congressional delegation Voting in Tennessee Tennessee elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018	Democratic primary battlegrounds Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries	U.S. Congress elections U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

Tennessee's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Marsha Blackburn (R)

Bill Hagerty (R)

Representatives

District 1

Diana Harshbarger (R)

District 2

Tim Burchett (R)

District 3

Charles Fleischmann (R)

District 4

Scott DesJarlais (R)

District 5

Andy Ogles (R)

District 6

John Rose (R)

District 7

Matt Van Epps (R)

District 8

David Kustoff (R)

District 9

Steve Cohen (D)

Republican Party (10)

Democratic Party (1)

2025-2026 Elections to the United States Congress

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Election information

Ballot access for major and minor party candidates • List of candidates running for election • List of congressional challengers • Retiring senators • Retiring representatives

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Super PACs/Organizations

American Bridge 21st Century • American Crossroads • American Unity PAC • Campaign for Primary Accountability • Club for Growth Action • Congressional Leadership Fund • Cooperative of American Physicians IE Committee• Crossroads Generation • Ending Spending Action Fund • Endorse Liberty • Fair Share Action • FreedomWorks for America • Government Integrity Fund • House Majority PAC • Independence USA Fund • League of Conservation Voters • Liberty for All PAC • Majority PAC • National Association of Realtors • NEA Advocacy Fund • Now or Never PAC • Planned Parenthood Votes • Ready for Hillary • Republicans for a Prosperous America • Restore America's Voice PAC • SEIU Pea-Federal • Women Vote!

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