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Tennessee's 9th Congressional District election, 2020

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2022
2018
Tennessee's 9th Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: April 2, 2020
Primary: August 6, 2020
General: November 3, 2020

Pre-election incumbent:
Steve Cohen (Democrat)
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 9th Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th
Tennessee elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 9th Congressional District of Tennessee, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent Steve Cohen won election in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 9.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
April 2, 2020
August 6, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Democrat Steve Cohen, who was first elected in 2006. The race was one of 56 U.S. House rematches from 2018.

The 9th District is located in the southwest region of Tennessee. It is located in a portion of Shelby County and includes the city of Memphis.[1]

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Tennessee's 9th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 78.5 77.4
Republican candidate Republican Party 19.9 20.1
Difference 58.6 57.3

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 modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures and voter identification rules for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Individuals "with a special vulnerability to COVID-19" and "caretakers for individuals with a special vulnerability to COVID-19" were deemed to meet the existing statutory criteria for absentee voting eligibility. A law requiring first-time voters to vote in person was temporarily suspended.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

Incumbent Steve Cohen defeated Charlotte Bergmann, Dennis Clark, Bobby Lyons, and Charles Shappley in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Cohen
Steve Cohen (D)
 
77.4
 
187,905
Image of Charlotte Bergmann
Charlotte Bergmann (R) Candidate Connection
 
20.1
 
48,818
Image of Dennis Clark
Dennis Clark (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
1.6
 
3,962
Image of Bobby Lyons
Bobby Lyons (Independent)
 
0.9
 
2,192
Charles Shappley (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
3

Total votes: 242,880
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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

Incumbent Steve Cohen defeated Corey Strong and Leo AwGoWhat in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on August 6, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Cohen
Steve Cohen
 
84.0
 
56,312
Image of Corey Strong
Corey Strong Candidate Connection
 
14.8
 
9,944
Leo AwGoWhat
 
1.1
 
768

Total votes: 67,024
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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

Charlotte Bergmann advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on August 6, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Charlotte Bergmann
Charlotte Bergmann Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
12,160

Total votes: 12,160
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

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

One of 95 Tennessee counties—1 percent—is a Pivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Hardeman County, Tennessee 7.92% 5.91% 6.18%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Tennessee with 60.7 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 34.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Tennessee cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Tennessee supported Democratic candidates for president and Republican candidates equally. The state, however, favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Tennessee. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns show the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns show the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[2][3]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 20 out of 99 state House districts in Tennessee with an average margin of victory of 50.7 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 22 out of 99 state House districts in Tennessee with an average margin of victory of 46.5 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 79 out of 99 state House districts in Tennessee with an average margin of victory of 36.8 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 77 out of 99 state House districts in Tennessee with an average margin of victory of 43.8 points. Trump won four districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

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+28, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 28 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Tennessee's 9th Congressional District the 33rd most Democratic nationally.[4]

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 1.06. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.06 points toward that party.[5]

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Steve Cohen Democratic Party $608,930 $458,671 $1,216,119 As of December 31, 2020
Charlotte Bergmann Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Dennis Clark Independent $9,991 $9,919 $40 As of November 23, 2020
Bobby Lyons Independent $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Charles Shappley Independent $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

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.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


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.[6]
  • 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.[7][8][9]

Race ratings: Tennessee's 9th 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.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 9th Congressional District candidates in Tennessee in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Tennessee, click here.

Filing requirements, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Tennessee 9th Congressional District All candidates 25 Fixed number N/A N/A 4/2/2020 Source

District election history

2018

See also: Tennessee's 9th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

Incumbent Steve Cohen defeated Charlotte Bergmann and Leo AwGoWhat in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Cohen
Steve Cohen (D)
 
80.0
 
145,139
Image of Charlotte Bergmann
Charlotte Bergmann (R)
 
19.2
 
34,901
Leo AwGoWhat (Independent)
 
0.8
 
1,436

Total votes: 181,476
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

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

Incumbent Steve Cohen defeated Kasandra Smith and Isaac Richmond in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on August 2, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Cohen
Steve Cohen
 
90.9
 
67,433
Image of Kasandra Smith
Kasandra Smith
 
6.4
 
4,734
Image of Isaac Richmond
Isaac Richmond
 
2.7
 
1,976

Total votes: 74,143
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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

Charlotte Bergmann advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on August 2, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Charlotte Bergmann
Charlotte Bergmann
 
100.0
 
17,971

Total votes: 17,971
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.

2016

See also: Tennessee's 9th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Steve Cohen defeated Wayne Alberson (R) and Paul Cook (I) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Cohen defeated Larry Crim, Justin Ford, and M. LaTroy Williams in the Democratic primary on August 4, 2016.[10][11][12]

U.S. House, Tennessee District 9 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSteve Cohen Incumbent 78.7% 171,631
     Republican Wayne Alberson 18.9% 41,123
     Independent Paul Cook 2.4% 5,203
Total Votes 217,957
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State


U.S. House, Tennessee District 9 Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngSteve Cohen Incumbent 85.5% 35,645
Justin Ford 10% 4,165
LaTroy Williams 3.5% 1,452
Larry Crim 1% 406
Total Votes 41,668
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State

2014

See also: Tennessee's 9th Congressional District elections, 2014

Incumbent Steve Cohen won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. He defeated Charlotte Bergmann, Floyd Alberson, Paul Cook and Herbert Bass in the general election.

U.S. House, Tennessee District 9 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSteve Cohen Incumbent 75% 87,308
     Republican Charlotte Bergmann 23.3% 27,163
     Independent Floyd Alberson 0.7% 766
     Independent Paul Cook 0.6% 751
     Independent Herbert Bass 0.4% 483
Total Votes 116,471
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Vote totals above are unofficial and will be updated once official totals are made available.

See also

External links

Footnotes


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)