2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee
November 6, 2018
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| Turnout | 54.46% 7.4 pp | ||||||||||||||||
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Blackburn: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Bredesen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 50% No data | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Tennessee |
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| Government |
The 2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 6, 2018, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections. Incumbent Republican senator Bob Corker opted to retire instead of running for a third term. Republican U.S. representative Marsha Blackburn won the open seat, defeating former Democratic governor Phil Bredesen.
The primaries took place on August 2, 2018, with Blackburn and Bredesen winning their respective party nominations.
Early in the campaign, Bob Corker said that Blackburn's opponent, Democrat Phil Bredesen, was "a very good mayor, a very good governor, a very good businessperson", that he had "real appeal" and "crossover appeal", and that the two of them had cooperated well over the years. However, Corker said he would vote for Blackburn and donate to her campaign, and questioned whether Bredesen would be able to win a Senate seat in a red state like Tennessee. After Corker's praise for Bredesen, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Corker that such comments could cost the Republican Party its Senate majority. Shortly after Corker's comments, Trump tweeted an endorsement of Blackburn.
In October 2018, Tennessean singer-songwriter Taylor Swift endorsed Bredesen. The endorsement was notable given that Swift had previously been publicly apolitical, but spoke out because Blackburn's voting record in Congress "appalled" and "terrified" her. Swift shared a link to the nonpartisan voter registration website Vote.org, which saw a significant spike in page views and new registrations. Donald Trump criticized Swift's endorsement.
This election was expected to be among the most competitive Senate races in 2018, with CNN calling it the single most important Senate race in the country. Polls showed the race as close until the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh started, which many Tennesseans believed the Democratic Party handled poorly. The hearings also energized Republican voters and helped Blackburn pull ahead of Bredesen in polls. Bredesen also announced his support for Kavanaugh, which some believe cost him supporters.
This was Tennessee's closest Senate race since 2006, with Blackburn winning by a 10.8% margin.
Bredesen aimed to be the third former governor of Tennessee to be elected to the U.S Senate after Andrew Johnson and Lamar Alexander.
At age 66, She is the oldest elected freshman US senator from Tennessee, the oldest woman and the oldest person to become a freshman US senator in the 21st Century until Democrat Peter Welch of Vermont surpassed her at age 75 in 2022. She remains the oldest woman at the time of first election to the U.S. Senate surpassing Mazie Hirono of Hawaii.