2020 Tennessee Senate election

2020 Tennessee State Senate election
16 of the 33 seats in the Tennessee State Senate; 17 seats needed for a majority
	Results:; Democratic gain ; Republican hold Democratic hold; No election ; Vote share:; 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% >90%; 50–60% >90%
Speaker before election; Randy McNally; Republican	Elected Speaker ; Randy McNally; Republican

The 2020 Tennessee State Senate election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect 16 of the 33 seats for the Tennessee's State Senate. The elections coincided with the Presidential, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and State House elections. The primary elections were held on August 6, 2020,^[1] with the exception of presidential primaries held on March 3 of that year.^[2]

Republicans lost District 20, which is in the outskirts of Nashville in Davidson County.

Retirements

One incumbent did not run for re-election in 2020. That incumbent was:

Republicans

District 26: Dolores Gresham: Retiring

Incumbents defeated

In the general election

Republicans

District 20: Steven Dickerson lost to Heidi Campbell.

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[3]	Safe R	October 21, 2020

Results summary

Summary of the November 3, 2020 Tennessee Senate election results
Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
Party		Candidates	No.	%	Before	Up	Won	After	+/–
	Republican	15	939,727	71.41	28	15	14	27	1
	Democratic	10	321,494	24.43	5	1	2	6	1
	Independent	3	52,928	4.02	0	0	0	0
	Write-in	2	1,777	0.14	0	0	0	0
Total			1,315,926	100	33	16	16	33
Source: [1]

Popular vote

Republican			71.41%
Democratic			24.43%
Other			4.16%

Senate seats

Republican			81.82%
Democratic			18.18%

Close races

Two races were decided by a margin of under 10%:

District	Winner	Margin
District 10	Republican	6.32%
District 20	Democratic (gain)	3.52%

Overview

District	Incumbent			Results	Candidates^[4]
District	Senator	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates^[4]
District 2	Art Swann	Republican	2017 (appointed)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Art Swann (Republican)
District 4	Jon Lundberg	Republican	2016	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jon Lundberg (Republican) ▌ Amber Riddle (Democratic)
District 6	Becky Duncan Massey	Republican	2011 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Becky Duncan Massey (Republican) ▌ Jane George (Democratic)
District 8	Frank S. Niceley	Republican	2012	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Frank S. Niceley (Republican)
District 10	Todd Gardenhire	Republican	2012	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Todd Gardenhire (Republican) ▌Glenn Scruggs (Democratic)
District 12	Ken Yager	Republican	2008	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Ken Yager (Republican)
District 14	Shane Reeves	Republican	2018 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Shane Reeves (Republican) ▌Chase Clemons (Democratic)
District 16	Janice Bowling	Republican	2012	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Janice Bowling (Republican) ▌Sheila Younglove (Democratic)
District 18	Ferrell Haile	Republican	2010 2011 (retired) 2012	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Ferrell Haile (Republican) ▌John Gentry (Independent)
District 20	Steven Dickerson	Republican	2012	Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y Heidi Campbell (Democratic) ▌Steven Dickerson (Republican)
District 22	Bill Powers	Republican	2019 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bill Powers (Republican) ▌Ronnie Glynn (Democratic)
District 24	John Stevens	Republican	2012	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Stevens (Republican) ▌Yahweh Yahweh (Independent)
District 26	Dolores Gresham	Republican	2008	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold.	▌Y Page Walley (Republican) ▌Civil Miller-Watkins (Democratic)
District 28	Joey Hensley	Republican	2012	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Joey Hensley (Republican) ▌James Gray (Independent)
District 30	Sara Kyle	Democratic	2014 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Sara Kyle (Democratic)
District 32	Paul Rose	Republican	2019 (special)	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Paul Rose (Republican) ▌Julie Byrd Ashworth (Democratic)

Detailed results by State Senate district

District 2 • District 4 • District 6 • District 8 • District 10 • District 12 • District 14 • District 16 • District 18 • District 20 • District 22 • District 24 • District 26 • District 28 • District 30 • District 32

District 2

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Art Swann (incumbent)	20,675	100
Total votes			20,675	100

General election

Tennessee's 2nd State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Art Swann (incumbent)	79,674	97.82
	Write-in	Patti Larimer Young	1,774	2.18
Total votes			81,448	100
	Republican hold

District 4

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jon Lundberg (incumbent)	21,051	100
Total votes			21,051	100

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Amber Riddle	2,967	100
Total votes			2,967	100

General election

Tennessee's 4th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jon Lundberg (incumbent)	65,638	79.06
	Democratic	Amber Riddle	17,381	20.94
Total votes			83,019	100
	Republican hold

District 6

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Becky Duncan Massey (incumbent)	19,741	100
Total votes			19,741	100

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jane George	7,783	63.96
	Democratic	Sam Brown	4,386	36.04
Total votes			12,169	100

General election

Tennessee's 6th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Becky Duncan Massey (incumbent)	61,286	63.14
	Democratic	Jane George	35,785	36.87
Total votes			97,071	100
	Republican hold

District 8

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank S. Niceley (incumbent)	18,298	100
Total votes			18,298	100

General election

Tennessee's 8th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank S. Niceley (incumbent)	59,713	100
Total votes			59,713	100
	Republican hold

District 10

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Todd Gardenhire (incumbent)	13,720	100
Total votes			13,720	100

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Glenn Scruggs	10,952	100
Total votes			10,952	100

General election

Tennessee's 10th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Todd Gardenhire (incumbent)	45,049	53.16
	Democratic	Glenn Scruggs	39,688	46.84
Total votes			84,737	100
	Republican hold

District 12

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ken Yager (incumbent)	20,408	100
Total votes			20,408	100

General election

Tennessee's 12th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ken Yager (incumbent)	69,042	100
Total votes			69,042	100
	Republican hold

District 14

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Shane Reeves (incumbent)	20,195	100
Total votes			20,195	100

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Chase Clemons	6,475	100
Total votes			6,475	100

General election

Tennessee's 14th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Shane Reeves (incumbent)	62,351	71.84
	Democratic	Chase Clemons	24,440	28.16
Total votes			86,791	100
	Republican hold

District 16

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Janice Bowling (incumbent)	21,638	100
Total votes			21,638	100

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sheila Younglove	6,183	100
Total votes			6,183	100

General election

Tennessee's 16th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Janice Bowling (incumbent)	62,379	76.01
	Democratic	Sheila Younglove	19,687	23.99
Total votes			82,066	100
	Republican hold

District 18

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ferrell Haile (incumbent)	18,923	100
Total votes			18,923	100

General election

Tennessee's 18th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ferrell Haile (incumbent)	68,141	72.18
	Independent	John A. Gentry	26,261	27.82
Total votes			94,402	100
	Republican hold

District 20

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steven Dickerson (incumbent)	14,345	100
Total votes			14,345	100

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Heidi Campbell	13,441	51.37
	Democratic	Kimi Abernathy	12,723	48.63
Total votes			26,164	100

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Steve Dickerson (R)	Heidi Campbell (D)	Undecided
Change Research/Heidi Campbell^[A]	August 31 – September 1, 2020	531 (LV)	± 4.2%	47%	49%	4%

General election

Tennessee's 20th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Heidi Campbell	58,746	51.76
	Republican	Steven Dickerson (incumbent)	54,755	48.24
Total votes			113,501	100
	Democratic gain from Republican

District 22

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Powers (incumbent)	8,338	52.75
	Republican	Doug Englen	7,468	47.25
Total votes			15,806	100

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ronnie L. Glynn	6,724	100
Total votes			6,724	100

General election

Tennessee's 22nd State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Powers (incumbent)	49,767	62.09
	Democratic	Ronnie L. Glynn	30,383	37.91
Total votes			80,150	100
	Republican hold

District 24

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Stevens (incumbent)	13,061	61.24
	Republican	Casey L. Hood	8,266	38.76
Total votes			21,327	100

General election

Tennessee's 24th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Stevens (incumbent)	63,532	87.84
	Independent	Yahweh Yahweh	8,795	12.16
Total votes			72,327	100
	Republican hold

District 26

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Page Walley	12,892	53.23
	Republican	Jai Templeton	11,328	46.77
Total votes			24,220	100

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Civil Miller-Watkins	5,301	100
Total votes			5,301	100

General election

Tennessee's 26th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Page Walley	62,701	75.89
	Democratic	Civil Miller-Watkins	19,918	24.11
Total votes			82,619	100
	Republican hold

District 28

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joey Hensley (incumbent)	21,083	100
Total votes			21,083	100

General election

Tennessee's 28th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joey Hensley (incumbent)	65,050	78.44
	Independent	James Anthony Gray	17,872	21.55
	Write-in	James R. Trusty	3	0.00
Total votes			82,925	100
	Republican hold

District 30

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sara Kyle (incumbent)	10,241	70.47
	Democratic	M. LaTroy Williams	4,292	29.53
Total votes			14,533	100

General election

Tennessee's 30th State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sara Kyle (incumbent)	43,895	100
Total votes			43,895	100
	Democratic hold

District 32

Republican primary

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Rose (incumbent)	17,294	76.40
	Republican	Scott Throckmorton	5,342	23.60
Total votes			22,636	100

Democratic primary

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Julie Byrd Ashworth	7,486	100
Total votes			7,486	100

General election

Tennessee's 32nd State Senate District general election, 2020
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Paul Rose (incumbent)	70,649	69.12
	Democratic	Julie Byrd Ashworth	31,571	30.89
Total votes			102,220	100
	Republican hold

Notes

^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

Partisan clients

^ Poll sponsored by Campbell's campaign

References

^ "Live: Tennessee Primary Election Results 2020". New York Times. August 7, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
^ Jonathan Mattise; Kimberlee Kruesi (March 4, 2020). "Biden wins Democratic presidential primary in Tennessee". Associated Press. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
^ "October Overview: Handicapping the 2020 State Legislature Races". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
^ "Petition Information". Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved April 7, 2022.

External links

Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Tennessee", Voting & Elections Toolkits
"Tennessee: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
"League of Women Voters of Tennessee". (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
Tennessee at Ballotpedia

[key-5] Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear

[6] Poll sponsored by Campbell's campaign

[1] "Live: Tennessee Primary Election Results 2020". New York Times. August 7, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.

[2] Jonathan Mattise; Kimberlee Kruesi (March 4, 2020). "Biden wins Democratic presidential primary in Tennessee". Associated Press. Retrieved March 4, 2020.

[cook-october-3] "October Overview: Handicapping the 2020 State Legislature Races". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved December 17, 2020.

[TN2022-4] "Petition Information". Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved April 7, 2022.

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[2]

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Retirements

Republicans

Incumbents defeated

In the general election

Republicans

Predictions

Results summary

Close races

Overview

Detailed results by State Senate district

District 2

Republican primary

General election

District 4

Republican primary

Democratic primary

General election

District 6

Republican primary

Democratic primary

General election

District 8

Republican primary

General election

District 10

Republican primary

Democratic primary

General election

District 12

Republican primary

General election

District 14

Republican primary

Democratic primary

General election

District 16

Republican primary

Democratic primary

General election

District 18

Republican primary

General election

District 20

Republican primary

Democratic primary

Polling

General election

District 22

Republican primary

Democratic primary

General election

District 24

Republican primary

General election

District 26

Republican primary

Democratic primary

General election

District 28

Republican primary

General election

District 30

Democratic primary

General election

District 32

Republican primary

Democratic primary

General election

See also

Notes

References

External links