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Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 6 Democratic primary)

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← 2024
Tennessee's 5th Congressional District
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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: Likely Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Likely 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 5th 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

A Democratic Party primary takes place on August 6, 2026, in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
March 10, 2026
August 6, 2026
November 3, 2026



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.[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

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:

Candidates and election results


Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 5

Mike Cortese, Chaz Molder, Joyce Neal, Elizabeth Stephens, and Jim Torino are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 5 on August 6, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Mike Cortese
Mike Cortese
Image of Chaz Molder
Chaz Molder
Image of Joyce Neal
Joyce Neal Candidate Connection
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Elizabeth Stephens
Image of Jim Torino
Jim Torino

There are no incumbents in this race.

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 that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Joyce Neal

Image of Joyce Neal

FacebookX

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "I was born in Omaha, NE, and raised in Clarksville, TN. I am a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. I am not a politician, but I am involved in my community through numerous local organizations. I value honesty, integrity, and transparency, and I can be reached at (615) 498-7925. I served in the Army/Army Reserve and retired after a 30-year career. I was also employed by the State of Tennessee, where I managed a statewide Medicaid program. I earned my bachelor's degree in Sociology and my master's degree in General Psychology from Tennessee State University, and my Doctorate in Education from Trevecca Nazarene University. My faith and belief are in God, as he is the Judge for all humankind."

Key Messages

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

Family. Family, in my opinion, is the most significant component of our communities. Even if our family members have made poor choices, we must always stand by them.

Honesty. Even when my candor may not align with people' views or beliefs, I think they should hear the facts.

Transparency. I think it's critical to keep my doors open to my constituents. It is my mission as an elected representative to keep the people who elected me informed about every development in Congress.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Tennessee

Election information in Tennessee: Aug. 6, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: July 7, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by July 7, 2026
  • Online: July 7, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: July 27, 2026
  • By mail: Received by July 27, 2026
  • Online: July 27, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: N/A
  • By mail: Received by Aug. 6, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

July 17, 2026 to Aug. 1, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

Varies - 7:00 p.m. (CT)

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Mike Cortese Democratic Party $261,103 $97,429 $163,674 As of December 31, 2025
Chaz Molder Democratic Party $1,210,379 $232,402 $977,977 As of December 31, 2025
Joyce Neal Democratic Party $5,360 $206 $19 As of December 31, 2025
Elizabeth Stephens Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Jim Torino Democratic Party $12,445 $9,211 $3,234 As of December 31, 2025

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.

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.


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

2023_01_03_tn_congressional_district_05.jpg
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+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Tennessee's 5th the 152nd most Republican district nationally.[2]

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 5th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
40.0%58.0%

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 January 2026.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Tennessee
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 1 1
Republican 2 8 10
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
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
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorRepublican Party Bill Lee
Secretary of StateRepublican Party Tre Hargett
Attorney GeneralRepublican Party 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

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

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ LexisNexis, "Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-7-115," accessed July 16, 2025
  2. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Tennessee's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Marsha Blackburn (R)
Bill Hagerty (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
John Rose (R)
District 7
District 8
District 9
Republican Party (10)
Democratic Party (1)


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