| Election Name: | 2022 Tennessee elections |
| Country: | Tennessee |
| Type: | midterm |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Next Year: | 2024 |
| Previous Year: | 2020 |
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.
See main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee.
Tennessee elected nine U.S. Representatives, each representing one of Tennessee's nine congressional districts.
| scope=col rowspan=3 | District | scope=col colspan=2 | Republican | scope=col colspan=2 | Democratic | scope=col colspan=2 | Others | scope=col colspan=2 | Total | scope=col rowspan=3 | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope=col colspan=2 style="background:" | ! | scope=col colspan=2 style="background:" | ! | scope=col colspan=2 | ! | scope=col colspan=2 | |||||||||
| scope=col data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | % ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | % ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | % ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | Votes ! | scope=col data-sort-type="number" | % |
| 147,241 | 78.32% | 37,049 | 19.71% | 3,713 | 1.97% | 188,003 | 100.0% | Republican hold | |||||||
| 141,089 | 67.91% | 66,673 | 32.09% | 0 | 0.00% | 207,762 | 100.0% | Republican hold | |||||||
| 136,639 | 68.38% | 60,334 | 30.19% | 2,857 | 1.43% | 199,830 | 100.0% | Republican hold | |||||||
| 122,401 | 70.57% | 44,648 | 25.74% | 6,388 | 3.68% | 173,437 | 100.0% | Republican hold | |||||||
| 123,558 | 55.84% | 93,648 | 42.32% | 4,069 | 1.84% | 221,275 | 100.0% | Republican gain | |||||||
| 129,388 | 66.33% | 65,675 | 33.67% | 0 | 0.00% | 195,063 | 100.0% | Republican hold | |||||||
| 108,421 | 59.96% | 68,973 | 38.14% | 3,428 | 1.90% | 180,822 | 100.0% | Republican hold | |||||||
| 155,602 | 73.99% | 51,102 | 24.30% | 3,611 | 1.72% | 210,315 | 100.0% | Republican hold | |||||||
| 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% |
See main article: 2022 Tennessee gubernatorial election.
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.
August 4, 2022, primary results
See main article: 2022 Tennessee Senate election.
See also: Tennessee General Assembly.
Results by senate districts
Winners:
Elections for 17 of the 33 seats in Tennessee's State Senate were held on November 8, 2022. There were three open seats and 14 incumbents who ran for re-election.
Following the 2022 elections, no seats flipped.
| Party | Candidates | Votes | Seats | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | 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: https://sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/20221108TotalResults.pdf | ||||||||||
See main article: 2022 Tennessee House of Representatives election.
Results by state house districts
Winners:
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.
| Party | Candidates | Votes | Seats | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | +/– | |||||||||
| 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: https://sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/20221108TotalResults.pdf | ||||||||||
Four races were decided by a margin of 10% or less:
| District | Winner | Margin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| District 67 | data-sort-value=1 | 1.34% | |
| District 59 | data-sort-value=1 | 4.76% | |
| District 41 | data-sort-value=1 (flip) | 5.1% | |
| District 18 | data-sort-value=1 | 8.22% |
See main article: 2022 Tennessee Amendment 1.
| Amendment 1 | |
| Question: | 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." |
| Yes: | 1,141,941 |
| No: | 494,239 |
| Total: | 1,636,180 |
| Mapcaption: | Results by county Yes |
| Notes: | Source: Tennessee Secretary of State[3] |
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.[4] 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.[5]
| Amendment 2 | |
| Yes: | 1,176,297 |
| No: | 400,109 |
| Total: | 1,576,406 |
| Notes: | Source: Tennessee Secretary of State |
| Mapcaption: | Results by county Yes |
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.[6]
See main article: 2022 Tennessee Amendment 3.
| Amendment 3 | |
| Question: | 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." |
| Yes: | 1,294,296 |
| No: | 333,071 |
| Total: | 1,627,367 |
| Notes: | Source: Tennessee Secretary of State |
| Mapcaption: | Results by county Yes |
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."[6]
| Amendment 4 | |
| Question: | Shall Article IX, Section 1 of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by deleting the section? |
| Yes: | 1,020,981 |
| No: | 593,461 |
| Total: | 1,614,442 |
| Notes: | Source: Tennessee Secretary of State |
| Mapcaption: | Results by county Yes |
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.[6]
Retention races results by congressional districts
Yes:
All incumbent Tennessee Supreme Court Justices won their retention elections.
See main article: 2022 Hamilton County, Tennessee mayoral election.
Republican nominee Weston Wamp, son of former U.S. representative Zach Wamp, won with 57.9% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Matt Adams.[7] [8] Incumbent Republican mayor Jim Coppinger, who was appointed county mayor in 2011, chose not to run for a fourth term.[9]
May 3, 2022, primary results
Republican nominee Coty Wamp, daughter of former U.S. representative Zach Wamp, and sister of Weston Wamp, won with 59.0% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee John Allen Brooks.[10]
May 3, 2022, primary results
See main article: 2022 Knox County, Tennessee mayoral election. Incumbent Republican mayor Glenn Jacobs won re-election with 55.3% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Debbie Helsley.
May 3, 2022, primary results
See main article: 2022 Shelby County, Tennessee mayoral election. Incumbent Democratic Mayor Lee Harris won re-election with 58.0% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Worth Morgan.[11] [12]
May 3, 2022, primary results
Incumbent Democratic mayor Joe Pitts ran for re-election and won a second term in office in a three-way race.[13]
| 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 | 100.00% |
|---|
Incumbent Republican mayor Shane McFarland ran for re-election and won a third term in office in a three-way race.[15]
| 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 | 100.00% |
|---|