Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2026

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Tennessee's 8th Congressional District
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. To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

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

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff is running in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		David Kustoff (R)

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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	$1,011,115	$449,033	$2,621,543	As of June 30, 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.

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
	9/9/2025	9/2/2025	8/26/2025	8/19/2025
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

This section will contain information on ballot access related to this state's elections when it is available.

District history

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

2024

See also: Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2024

Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 1 Democratic primary)

Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 1 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff defeated Sarah Freeman and James Hart 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.
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 8

Sarah Freeman defeated Brenda Woods, Lynnette Williams, Leonard Perkins, and Lawrence Pivnick 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

---

	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.
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 8

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

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff	100.0	55,809

---

	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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• George Flinn Jr. (R)

2022

See also: Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff defeated Lynnette Williams, James Hart, and Ronnie Henley 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 election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Lynnette Williams defeated Tim McDonald 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 election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff defeated Bob Hendry, Danny Bridger Jr., and Dean Clouse 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.

2020

See also: Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff defeated Erika Stotts Pearson, James Hart, and Jon Dillard 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 election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Erika Stotts Pearson defeated Savannah Williamson, Lawrence Pivnick, and Hollis Skinner 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 (100.00% 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 election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

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

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff	100.0	70,677

---

	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

This section will contain facts and figures related to this district's elections when those are available.

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

Vacant

District 8

David Kustoff (R)

District 9

Steve Cohen (D)

Republican Party (9)

Democratic Party (1)

Vacancies (1)

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