Tennessee Supreme Court elections, 2026
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The term of one Tennessee Supreme Court justice will expire on September 1, 2026. The one seat is up for retention election on August 6, 2026. The filing deadline was January 1, 2026.
Judges with expiring terms
- This is a list of the justices who must stand for retention election in 2026 in order to remain on the bench. Justices may choose not to stand for election. The list is subject to change if justices retire or are appointed.
Candidates and results
Note: The following list of candidates is unofficial. The filing deadline for this election has passed, and Ballotpedia is working to update this page with the official candidate list. This note will be removed once the official candidate list has been added.
Mary L. Wagner's seat
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Tennessee
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
About the Tennessee Supreme Court
- See also: Tennessee Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. Justices of the 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.
Political composition
This is the political composition of the court heading into the 2026 election.
| ■ Dwight Tarwater | Appointed by Gov. Bill Lee (R) in 2023 | |
| ■ Jeff Bivins | Appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam (R) in 2014 | |
| ■ Sarah Campbell | Appointed by Gov. Bill Lee (R) in 2022 | |
| ■ Holly Kirby | Appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam (R) in 2013 | |
| ■ Mary L. Wagner | Appointed by Gov. Bill Lee (R) in 2024 |
Selection
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
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.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Justia Law, "Tennessee Code Annotated § 17-4-101," accessed April 16, 2025 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "VacancyCode" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Tennessee," archived September 11, 2014
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Tennessee; Judicial Nominating Commissions," accessed September 30, 2021
- ↑ TNCourts.gov, "JUSTICE SHARON LEE ELECTED CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE TENNESSEE SUPREME COURT," August 14, 2014
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Tennessee," accessed August 5, 2016
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
