2022 Tennessee elections

2022 Tennessee elections

←  2020 August 4, 2022 November 8, 2022 2024  →

Tennessee state elections in 2022 were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Primary elections for the United States House of Representatives, governorship, Tennessee Senate, and Tennessee House of Representatives, as well as various judicial retention elections, including elections for all five Tennessee Supreme Court justices as well as general local elections, were held on August 4, 2022. There were also four constitutional amendments to the Constitution of Tennessee on the November 8 ballot.

United States Congress

House of Representatives

Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee

District results:

  Republican

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%

  Democratic

•   70–80%

Tennessee elected nine U.S. Representatives, each representing one of Tennessee's nine Congressional Districts.

Results

District	Republican		Democratic		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	147,241	78.32%	37,049	19.71%	3,713	1.97%	188,003	100.0%	Republican hold
District 2	141,089	67.91%	66,673	32.09%	0	0.00%	207,762	100.0%	Republican hold
District 3	136,639	68.38%	60,334	30.19%	2,857	1.43%	199,830	100.0%	Republican hold
District 4	122,401	70.57%	44,648	25.74%	6,388	3.68%	173,437	100.0%	Republican hold
District 5	123,558	55.84%	93,648	42.32%	4,069	1.84%	221,275	100.0%	Republican gain
District 6	129,388	66.33%	65,675	33.67%	0	0.00%	195,063	100.0%	Republican hold
District 7	108,421	59.96%	68,973	38.14%	3,428	1.90%	180,822	100.0%	Republican hold
District 8	155,602	73.99%	51,102	24.30%	3,611	1.72%	210,315	100.0%	Republican hold
District 9	35,123	26.23%	93,800	70.04%	4,995	3.73%	133,918	100.0%	Democratic hold
Total	1,099,462	64.28%	581,902	34.02%	29,061	1.70%	1,710,425	100.0%

Popular vote Republican   64.28% Democratic   34.02% Other   1.70%

House seats Republican   88.89% Democratic   11.11%

Gubernatorial

Main article: 2022 Tennessee gubernatorial election

Final results by county:

  Lee

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

  Martin

•   50–60%
•   60–70%

Incumbent Republican Governor Bill Lee was re-elected to a second term with almost 65% of the vote, improving on his performance from 2018.

The Tennessee primaries took place on August 4, 2022, with Lee and Democrat Jason Martin winning their respective parties' nominations. ^{[1] [2]}

Lee was sworn in on January 21, 2023.

Results

2022 Tennessee gubernatorial election ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Bill Lee (incumbent)	1,129,390	64.91%	+5.55
	Democratic	Jason Martin	572,818	32.92%	−5.63
	Independent	John Gentry	15,395	0.89%	N/A
	Independent	Constance Every	10,277	0.59%	N/A
	Independent	Deborah Rouse	3,772	0.22%	N/A
	Independent	Rick Tyler	2,380	0.14%	N/A
	Independent	Charles Van Morgan	1,862	0.11%	N/A
	Independent	Basil Marceaux	1,568	0.09%	N/A
	Independent	Alfred O'Neil	1,216	0.07%	N/A
	Independent	Michael Scantland	815	0.05%	N/A
	Write-In	Lemichael D. Wilson	386	0.02%	N/A
	Write-In	Charles Carney	2	0.00%	N/A
	Write-In	Stephen C. Maxwell	1	0.00%	N/A
	Write-In	Kameron Parker Scott	0	0.00%	N/A
Total votes			1,739,882	100.00%
Turnout			1,739,882	38.57%	-15.89%
Registered electors			4,550,026 [4]
	Republican hold

August 4, 2022, primary results

Results by county:

  Martin

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Smiley

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Atwater

•   30–40%

Democratic primary results ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jason Martin	101,552	39.39
	Democratic	J.B. Smiley Jr.	100,062	38.81
	Democratic	Carnita Atwater	56,227	21.81
Total votes			257,841	100.00

Republican primary results ^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Lee (incumbent)	494,362	100.00
Total votes			494,362	100.00

State legislature

State senate

Main article: 2022 Tennessee Senate election

See also: Tennessee General Assembly

Results by senate districts

Winners:   Republican hold   Democratic hold   No election

Elections for 17 of the 33 seats in Tennessee's State Senate were held on November 8, 2022. There were 3 open seats and 14 incumbents that ran for re-election.

Following the 2022 elections, no seats flipped.

Summary of the November 8, 2022 Tennessee Senate election results

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	Before	Up	Won	After	+/–
	Republican	15	546,264	70.64	27	13	13	27
	Democratic	10	207,273	26.81	6	4	4	6
	Independent	3	19,716	2.55	0	0	0	0
Total			773,253	100.00	33	17	17	33
Source:

Popular vote Republican   70.64% Democratic   26.81% Independents   2.55%

Senate seats Republican   81.82% Democratic   18.18%

State House of Representatives

Main article: 2022 Tennessee House of Representatives election

Results by state house districts

Winners:

  Republican hold

  Republican gain

  Democratic hold

The election of all 99 seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives occurred on November 8, 2022.

Republicans gained two seats, expanding their supermajority in the state house even more. John Windle lost his re-election bid after registering as an Independent.

Summary of the November 8, 2022 Tennessee House election results

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–
	Republican	81	1,077,324	70.48	75	2
	Democratic	54	410,589	26.86	24	1
	Independent	12	39,777	2.60	0	1
	Write-in		804	0.05	0
Total			1,528,494	100.00	99
Source:

Popular vote Republican   70.48% Democratic   26.86% Independent   2.60% Write-ins   0.05%

House seats Republican   75.76% Democratic   24.24%

Close races

Four races were decided by a margin of 10% or less:

District	Winner	Margin
District 67	Democratic	1.34%
District 59	Democratic	4.76%
District 41	Republican (flip)	5.1%
District 18	Republican	8.22%

Ballot measures

Amendment 1

Main article: 2022 Tennessee Amendment 1

Amendment 1

Shall Article XI of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by adding the following language as a new section? "It is unlawful for any person, corporation, association, or this state or its political subdivisions to deny or attempt to deny employment to any person by reason of the person's membership in, affiliation with, resignation from, or refusal to join or affiliate with any labor union or employee organization."
Results
Choice Votes  % Yes 1,141,941 69.79% No 494,239 30.21% Valid votes 1,636,180 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 1,636,180 100.00%
Yes   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State [7]

This is an approved legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the Constitution of Tennessee. The amendment adds language to the constitution to prohibit workplaces from requiring mandatory labor union membership for employees as a condition for employment. ^[8] The U.S. state of Tennessee has been a right-to-work state by statute since 1947. However, this referendum will make the law a right and amendment written into the state's constitution. ^[9]

Amendment 2

Main article: 2022 Tennessee Amendment 2

Amendment 2

Shall Article III, Section 12 of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by adding the following language immediately following the current language in the Section? "Whenever the Governor transmits to the Secretary of State, the Speaker of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a written, signed declaration that the Governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the powers and duties of the office of Governor shall be temporarily discharged by the Speaker of the Senate as Acting Governor, or if that office is unoccupied, then by the Speaker of the House of Representatives as Acting Governor, until the Governor transmits to the same officials a written, signed declaration that the Governor is able to discharge the powers and duties of the office. Whenever a majority of the commissioners of administrative departments of the Executive Department transmits to the Secretary of State, the Speaker of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written, signed declaration that the Governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office, the Speaker of the Senate shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting Governor, or if that office is unoccupied, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting Governor, until the Governor transmits to the same officials a written, signed declaration that the Governor is able to discharge the powers and duties of the office. Whenever a Speaker is temporarily discharging the powers and duties of the office of Governor as Acting Governor, such Speaker shall not be required to resign the Speaker’s position as the Speaker or to resign as a member of the general assembly and shall retain the Speaker’s salary and not receive the Governor’s salary, but such Speaker shall not preside as Speaker or vote as a member of the general assembly during the time the Speaker is Acting Governor." and Shall Article III, Section 13 of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by adding the following language immediately before the period at the end of the Section? "except as provided in Article III, Section 12 with regard to the Speaker of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives temporarily discharging the powers and duties of the office of Governor as Acting Governor" and Shall Article II, Section 26 of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by adding the following language at the end of the Section? "This section shall not apply with regard to the Speaker of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives temporarily discharging the powers and duties of the office of Governor as Acting Governor under Article III, Section 12."
Results
Choice Votes  % Yes 1,176,297 74.62% No 400,109 25.38% Valid votes 1,576,406 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 1,576,406 100.00%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State [7]

This amendment would add to article III, section 12 of the Tennessee Constitution a process for the temporary exercise of the powers and duties of the governor by the Speaker of the Senate—or the Speaker of the House if there is no Speaker of the Senate in office—when the governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor. While a Speaker is temporarily discharging the powers and duties of the governor, the Speaker would not be required to resign as Speaker or to resign as a member of the legislature; but the Speaker would not be able to preside as Speaker or vote as a member of the legislature. A Speaker who is temporarily discharging the powers and duties of the governor would not get the governor’s salary but would get the Speaker’s salary. The amendment would also exempt a Speaker who is temporarily discharging the powers and duties of the governor from provisions in the Constitution that would otherwise prohibit the Speaker from exercising the powers of the governor and from simultaneously holding more than one state office. ^[10]

Amendment 3

Main article: 2022 Tennessee Amendment 3

Amendment 3

Shall Article I, Section 33 of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by deleting the section and substituting instead the following? "Section 33. Slavery and involuntary servitude are forever prohibited. Nothing in this section shall prohibit an inmate from working when the inmate has been duly convicted of a crime."
Results
Choice Votes  % Yes 1,294,296 79.53% No 333,071 20.47% Valid votes 1,627,367 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 1,627,367 100.00%
Yes   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State [7]

This amendment would change the current language in article I, section 33 of the Tennessee Constitution, which says that slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a person who has been duly convicted of crime, are forever prohibited in this State. The amendment would delete this current language and replace it with the following language: “Slavery and involuntary servitude are forever prohibited. Nothing in this section shall prohibit an inmate from working when the inmate has been duly convicted of a crime." ^[10]

Amendment 4

Main article: 2022 Tennessee Amendment 4

Amendment 4

Shall Article IX, Section 1 of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by deleting the section?
Results
Choice Votes  % Yes 1,020,981 63.24% No 593,461 36.76% Valid votes 1,614,442 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 1,614,442 100.00%
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State [7]

This amendment would delete article IX, section 1 of the Tennessee Constitution, which prohibits ministers of the gospel and priests of any denomination from holding a seat in either House of the legislature. ^[10]

Supreme Court

Retention elections (August 4, 2022)

All incumbent Tennessee Supreme Court Justices won their retention elections.

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice, Roger A. Page retention election ^[11]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	450,681	72.11
No	174,269	27.89
Total votes	624,950	100.00

Tennessee Supreme Court Associate Justice, Sharon G. Lee retention election ^[11]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	463,799	72.98
No	171,522	27.02
Total votes	635,321	100.00

Tennessee Supreme Court Associate Justice, Jeffrey S. Bivins retention election ^[11]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	462,036	71.53
No	183,853	28.47
Total votes	645,889	100.00

Tennessee Supreme Court Associate Justice, Holly M. Kirby retention election ^[11]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	468,351	73.81
No	166,200	26.19
Total votes	634,551	100.00

Tennessee Supreme Court Associate Justice, Sarah K. Campbell retention election ^[11]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	466,860	72.93
No	173,306	27.07
Total votes	640,166	100.00

Local elections

County mayoral elections

Hamilton County

Main article: 2022 Hamilton County, Tennessee mayoral election

Republican Candidate Weston Wamp, son of former U.S. Representative Zach Wamp, won with 57.9% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Matt Adams. ^{[12] [13]} Incumbent Republican Mayor Jim Coppinger, who was appointed county mayor in 2011, chose not to run for a fourth term. ^[14]

Results

August 4, 2022 General election results ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Weston Wamp	28,199	57.89%
	Democratic	Matt Adams	20,512	42.11%
Total votes			48,711	100.00%

May 3, 2022, primary results

Democratic primary results ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Matt Adams	5,876	100.00%
Total votes			5,876	100.00%

Republican primary results ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Weston Wamp	14,428	35.44%
	Republican	Sabrena D. Smedley	14,110	34.66%
	Republican	Matt Hullander	12,171	29.90%
Total votes			40,709	100.00%

Knox County

Main article: 2022 Knox County, Tennessee mayoral election

Final results by precinct:

  Jacobs

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

  Helsley

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%
•   >90%

Incumbent Republican mayor Glenn Jacobs won re-election with 55.3% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Debbie Helsley.

Results

General election results ^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Glenn Jacobs	30,306	55.28%
	Democratic	Debbie Helsley	24,520	44.72%
	Write-in	Tracy A. Clough (write-in)	1	0.00%
Total votes			54,287	100.00%

May 3, 2022, primary results

Democratic primary results ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Debbie Helsley	5,921	74.20%
	Democratic	Tyler Givens	1,397	17.51%
	Democratic	Bob Fischer	662	8.30%
Total votes			7,980	100.00%

Republican primary results ^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Glenn Jacobs (incumbent)	24,687	100.00%
Total votes			24,687	100.00%

Shelby County

Main article: 2022 Shelby County, Tennessee mayoral election

Final results by precinct:

  Harris

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%
•   >90%

  Morgan

•   50–60%
•   60–70%
•   70–80%
•   80–90%

Incumbent Democratic Mayor Lee Harris won re-election with 58.0% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Worth Morgan. ^{[20] [21]}

Results

August 4, 2022 General election results ^[22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lee Harris (Incumbent)	78,606	57.98%
	Republican	Worth Morgan	56,809	41.90%
	Write-in	Write-in	256	0.12%
Total votes			135,571	100.00%

May 3, 2022, primary results

Democratic primary results ^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lee Harris (Incumbent)	33,759	70.06%
	Democratic	Kenneth Moody	14,372	29.83%
	Write-in	Write-in	56	0.12%
Total votes			48,187	100.00%

Republican primary results ^[24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Worth Morgan	14,259	99.19%
	Write-in	Write-in	117	0.81%
Total votes			14,376	100.00%

City mayoral elections

Clarksville

Main article: 2022 Clarksville mayoral election

Incumbent Democratic mayor Joe Pitts ran for re-election and won a second term in office in a 3-way race. ^[25]

November 8, 2022 Clarksville Mayor Election ^[26]

Candidate	Votes	%
Joe Pitts (I)	14,095	54.54%
David Allen	8,715	33.72%
A.C. "Big Sarge" Lopez	2,846	11.01%
Write-ins	189	0.73%
Total	25,845	100%

Murfreesboro

Main article: 2022 Murfreesboro mayoral election

Incumbent Republican mayor Shane McFarland ran for re-election and won a third term in office in a 3-way race. ^[27]

August 4, 2022 Murfreesboro Mayor Election ^[28]

Candidate	Votes	%
Shane McFarland (I)	8,446	66.45%
Tony Lehew	2,103	16.55%
Nathan Bennett	2,100	16.52%
Write-ins	61	0.48%
Total	12,710	100%

See also

• Elections in Tennessee
• Political party strength in Tennessee
• Tennessee Democratic Party
• Tennessee Republican Party
• Government of Tennessee
• Tennessee Supreme Court
• 2022 United States elections

References

1. "2022 Midterm Election Events Calendar". www.cnn.com. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
2. "Doctor critical of lax COVID rules wins Tenn. Dem gov race". AP NEWS. August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
3. State of Tennessee General Election Results Governor, November 8, 2022, Results By Office (PDF) (Report). Secretary of State of Tennessee. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
4. McCullough, Erin (November 11, 2022). "Less than 40% of registered voters in Tennessee turned out for the 2022 midterms". WKRN News 2. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
5. "August 4, 2022 Democratic Primary Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
6. "August 4, 2022 Republican Primary Governor" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
7. "Tennessee Amendment Election Results". Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
8. "Tennessee Senate - SJR0648" (PDF). capitol.tn.gov. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
9. Gay, Barrett (November 16, 2020). "Digging into the history of "Right-to-Work" as Tennessee considers new amendment". WBIR. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
10. "2022 Proposed Constitutional Amendments". Tennessee Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
11. State of Tennessee General Election Results, August 4, 2022, Results By Office (Report). Secretary of State of Tennessee. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
12. "Weston Wamp Headed To County Mayor Post; Adams Offers His Congratulations". www.chattanoogan.com. August 5, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
13. "DECISION 2022: Weston Wamp wins race for Hamilton County Mayor". Local3News.com. August 5, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
14. A. O. L. Staff (October 20, 2021). "Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger announces he won't seek re-election". www.timesfreepress.com. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
15. "Election Commission for Hamilton County, TN > Election Archives > 2022". elect.hamiltontn.gov. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
16. "Election Commission for Hamilton County, TN > Election Archives > 2022". elect.hamiltontn.gov. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
17. "Election Commission for Hamilton County, TN > Election Archives > 2022". elect.hamiltontn.gov. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
18. "August 4, 2022 General election" (PDF). Knox County Election Commission. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
19. "May 3rd Republican Primary Mayor" (PDF). Knox County Election Commission. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
20. Burgess, Katherine. "Four more years: Lee Harris reelected as mayor of Shelby County in extension of blue wave". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
21. "Past Elections | Shelby County Election Commission, TN". www.electionsshelbytn.gov. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
22. "Past Elections | Shelby County Election Commission, TN". www.electionsshelbytn.gov. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
23. "Lee Harris". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
24. "Lee Harris". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
25. "Joe Pitts re-elected as Clarksville mayor". Yahoo . November 9, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
26. "MoCo Election Results". election.mcgtn.org. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
27. "Shane McFarland remains Murfreesboro mayor; Scales-Harris retains council seat". Yahoo Sports. August 5, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
28. "May 3rd, 2022 - Rutherford County Election Results". secured.rutherfordcountytn.gov. Retrieved December 22, 2023.