Tennessee Supreme Court elections

There are five justices on the Tennessee Supreme Court. For more information about these elections, visit the Tennessee judicial elections page.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Tennessee

The five justices on the Tennessee Supreme Court are selected through assisted appointment. The governor selects a nominee from a list of recommended candidates from a judicial nominating commission. The nominee must be confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly. Justices face retention elections at the end of their terms.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The appointment system was adjusted in 2014 with the passage of a state ballot measure titled Tennessee Judicial Selection, Amendment 2. The measure added the required confirmation by the Tennessee legislature. While Tennessee state law changed in 2014 to eliminate the judicial nominating commission and require legislative approval of the governor’s appointee, Gov. Bill Haslam’s Executive Order No. 54 and Gov. Bill Lee’s subsequent Executive Order No. 87 re-established the judicial nominating commission for appointments. Accordingly, Tennessee’s process is effectively assisted appointment with legislative confirmation.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

authorized to practice law in the state;
a state resident for five years; and
at least 35 years old.^[2]

Chief justice

According to the Tennessee Constitution, the justices of the supreme court select the chief justice.^[4] The chief justice serves a four-year term.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the governor appoints a replacement justice from a list from a judicial nominating commission. The nominee must be confirmed by both chambers of the state legislature. If filling an interim vacancy, the appointee stands for retention in the next general election at least 30 days after the vacancy occurred. The retained judge serves out the remainder of the unexpired term before again running for retention to serve a full eight-year term.^[1]^[2] Judges are voted upon by the voters of the whole state.^[5]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Elections

Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Supreme Court Middle Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Supreme Court Middle Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section

Mary L. Wagner is running for retention to the Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section on August 6, 2026.

Retention Vote	%	Votes
Yes
No
Total Votes

Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section

Dwight Tarwater was retained to the Tennessee Supreme Court Eastern Section on August 1, 2024 with 72.9% of the vote.

	Retention Vote	%	Votes
✔	Yes	72.9	390,549
	No	27.1	145,508
	Total Votes		536,057