Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Tennessee Supreme Court elections, 2016
 |
Presidential • U.S. House • State Senate • State House • State judges • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Candidate ballot access |
 |
| 2016 State Judicial Elections |
|---|
 |
| Part 1: Overview |
| Part 2: Supreme Courts |
| Part 3: Partisanship |
| Part 4: Changes in 2016 |
Three seats on the Tennessee Supreme Court were up for retention elections on August 4, 2016. Justice Jeff Bivins, Justice Holly Kirby, and Justice Roger Page faced retention elections. If retained by voters, a supreme court justice serves for eight years prior to the next retention election. All three justices were retained.
Justices facing retention
■ Jeff Bivins (Retained)
■ Holly Kirby (Retained)
■ Roger A. Page (Retained)
Election results
| Tennessee Supreme Court Retention, Jeff Bivins, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Jeff Bivins | 70.79% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Supreme Court Retention, Holly Kirby, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Holly Kirby | 71.00% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
| Tennessee Supreme Court Retention, Roger A. Page, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Roger A. Page | 70.88% | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State Official Results | ||
Bar Association recommendations
The Tennessee Bar Association surveyed its members on the recommendation of the three justices for retention.[1] Nine out of ten lawyers responding to the survey indicated that they would retain Justices Bivins, Kirby, and Page. The breakdown of responses was as follows:
| Justice | Highly Recommend | Recommend | Do Not Recommend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Bivins | 68.2% | 26% | 5.8% |
| Holly Kirby | 67.8% | 24.5% | 7.7% |
| Roger A. Page | 64.1% | 29.8% | 6.1% |
| Source: | Tennessee Bar Association |
Political composition
Justices on the Tennessee Supreme Court are appointed to their seats. Chief Justice Sharon Lee and Justice Cornelia Clark were appointed by Gov. Phil Bredesen (D). Justice Holly Kirby, Justice Roger Page, and Justice Jeff Bivins were appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam (R).
Chief Justice Sharon Lee 
Justice Cornelia Clark
Justice Holly Kirby 
Justice Jeff Bivins
Justice Roger Page
= Nonpartisan
= Appointed by Democratic governor
= Appointed by Republican governor
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Tennessee
Judicial selection
Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court are appointed by the governor of Tennessee and confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly. Appointed justices must be retained by voters in the next general election following appointment. Justices serve eight-year terms and may stand for retention by voters to further eight-year terms.
Qualifications
A qualified candidate for the Tennessee Supreme Court is one who meets the requirements set out in Article 8-18-101 of the Tennessee Constitution, and further, the person must be at least 35 years old and have been a resident of Tennessee for at least five years. He or she must also be an attorney licensed to practice law in the state.[2]
State profile
| Demographic data for Tennessee | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 6,595,056 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 41,235 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 77.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 16.8% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 4.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 85.5% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 24.9% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $45,219 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 21.4% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Tennessee. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Tennessee
Tennessee voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Tennessee, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[3]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Tennessee had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Tennessee coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Tennessee
- United States congressional delegations from Tennessee
- Public policy in Tennessee
- Endorsers in Tennessee
- Tennessee fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Tennessee court elections' OR 'Tennessee Supreme Court 2016' OR 'Tennessee Supreme Court election'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Tennessee Bar Association, "9 out of 10 Lawyers Recommend Retention of Supreme Court Justices," June 14, 2016
- ↑ Bradley County Election Commission, "Bradley Elections: Tennessee Qualifications," accessed September 2, 2014
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
| ||||||||||
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Tennessee, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee
State courts:
Tennessee Supreme Court • Tennessee Court of Appeals • Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals • Tennessee Circuit Court • Tennessee Chancery Courts • Tennessee Criminal Court • Tennessee Probate Court • Tennessee General Sessions Court • Tennessee Juvenile Court • Tennessee Municipal Court
State resources:
Courts in Tennessee • Tennessee judicial elections • Judicial selection in Tennessee
