Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 6 Democratic primary)
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← 2022
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| Governor of Tennessee |
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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 |
| Race ratings |
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican Inside Elections: Solid Republican |
| Ballotpedia analysis |
| Federal and state primary competitiveness State executive elections in 2026 Impact of term limits in 2026 State government trifectas State government triplexes Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026 |
| Tennessee executive elections |
| Governor |
A Democratic Party primary takes place on August 6, 2026, in Tennessee to determine which candidate will earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's gubernatorial election on November 3, 2026.
This page focuses on Tennessee's Democratic Party gubernatorial primary. For more in-depth information on Tennessee's Republican gubernatorial primary and the general election, see the following pages:
- Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 6 Republican primary)
- Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2026
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
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Tennessee
Carnita Atwater, Tim Cyr, Jerri Green, and Adam Kurtz are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Tennessee on August 6, 2026.
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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.
Party: Democratic Party
Incumbent: No
Political Office: None
Submitted Biography: "My name is Dr. Carnita Atwater. I am running for the Governor of the State of Tennessee to give the power back to people. I am a bold, unbossed and unbought candidate standing with the people. I am the vehicle that will bring transparency back into our democracy. I am the "People's Governor". I am the first woman of color to run for the office of Governor in the history of this great State. I am a devour citizen that have had boots-on-the-ground in the State of Tennessee for over 40 years, thus making Tennesseans the center of my life's mission to bring about fairness, justice and equity for all citizens. Consequently, with my people-centered and community-driven mindset, I will transcend into this new governorship. There is only one main reason that I entered as a candidate for Governor and that is to "place people back into politics". My entire life has been about serving the people, and it did not start with ascertaining a political office. I am a firm believer that we should be our sisters and brother's keeper. As a lifelong community advocate, I am charged to stand up against the injustice of all Tennesseans no matter what race, creed, nationality, religion, gender identity, disability, social economic status or zip code. As an incoming Governor, I will not partake in political corruption, and I will not go along to get along at the detriment of our beloved citizens. We can no longer place a bandage on a third-degree societal burn in the State of Tennessee."
Voting information
- See also: Voting in Tennessee
Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.
Election analysis
Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.
- Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
- Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
- State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
- Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.
Cook PVI by congressional district
| District | Incumbent | PVI |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee's 1st | Diana Harshbarger | R+29 |
| Tennessee's 2nd | Tim Burchett | R+17 |
| Tennessee's 3rd | Chuck Fleischmann | R+18 |
| Tennessee's 4th | Scott DesJarlais | R+21 |
| Tennessee's 5th | Andy Ogles | R+8 |
| Tennessee's 6th | John Rose | R+17 |
| Tennessee's 7th | Mark Green | R+10 |
| Tennessee's 8th | David Kustoff | R+21 |
| Tennessee's 9th | Steve Cohen | D+23 |
2024 presidential results by 2026 congressional district lines
| District | Kamala Harris  |
Donald Trump  |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee's 1st | 21.0% | 78.0% |
| Tennessee's 2nd | 32.0% | 66.0% |
| Tennessee's 3rd | 31.0% | 67.0% |
| Tennessee's 4th | 28.0% | 71.0% |
| Tennessee's 5th | 40.0% | 58.0% |
| Tennessee's 6th | 32.0% | 67.0% |
| Tennessee's 7th | 38.0% | 60.0% |
| Tennessee's 8th | 29.0% | 70.0% |
| Tennessee's 9th | 71.0% | 27.0% |
| Source: The Downballot | ||
2016-2024
How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:
| County-level voting pattern categories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Democratic | D | D | D | ||||
| Trending Democratic | R | D | D | ||||
| Battleground Democratic | D | R | D | ||||
| New Democratic | R | R | D | ||||
| Republican | |||||||
| Status | 2016 | 2020 | 2024 | ||||
| Solid Republican | R | R | R | ||||
| Trending Republican | D | R | R | ||||
| Battleground Republican | R | D | R | ||||
| New Republican | D | D | R | ||||
Following the 2024 presidential election, 77% of Tennesseans lived in one of the state's 92 Solid Republican counties, which voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election from 2016 to 2024, and 23% lived in one of 3 Solid Democratic counties. Overall, Tennessee was Solid Republican, having voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016, Donald Trump (R) in 2020, and Donald Trump (R) in 2024. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Tennessee following the 2024 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.
| Tennessee county-level statistics, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solid Republican | 92 | 77.0% | |||||
| Solid Democratic | 3 | 23.0% | |||||
| Total voted Democratic | 3 | 23.0% | |||||
| Total voted Republican | 92 | 77.0% | |||||
Historical voting trends
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 |
This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.
U.S. Senate elections
The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Tennessee.
Gubernatorial elections
- See also: Governor of Tennessee
The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Tennessee.
Congressional delegation
The table below displays the partisan composition of Tennessee's congressional delegation as of October 2025.
| Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Tennessee | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Total |
| Democratic | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Republican | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancies | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 9 | 11 |
State executive
The table below displays the officeholders in Tennessee's top three state executive offices as of October 2025.
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Governor | Bill Lee |
| Secretary of State | Tre Hargett |
| Attorney General | 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 |
The table below details demographic data in Tennessee and compares it to the broader United States as of 2023.
| Demographic Data for Tennessee | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | United States | |
| Population | 6,910,840 | 331,449,281 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 41,224 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 73.5% | 63.4% |
| Black/African American | 15.9% | 12.4% |
| Asian | 1.8% | 5.8% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.9% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| Other (single race) | 2.5% | 6.6% |
| Multiple | 6% | 10.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.1% | 19% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 89.6% | 89.4% |
| College graduation rate | 30.4% | 35% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $67,097 | $78,538 |
| Persons below poverty level | 13.8% | 12.4% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023). | ||
| **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. | ||
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.[1]
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...
See also
| Tennessee | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
