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| Turnout | 54.46%  [1] 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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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.[2][3] After Corker's praise for Bredesen, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Corker that such comments could cost the Republican Party its Senate majority.[3] Shortly after Corker's comments, Trump tweeted an endorsement of Blackburn.[3]
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.[4][5][6]
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. This is believed to have mobilized Republican voters and cost Bredesen any chance of winning.[7] Bredesen also announced his support for Kavanaugh, which some believe cost him supporters.[8]
This was Tennessee's closest Senate race since 2006, with Blackburn winning by a 10.8% margin.
- ^ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2018". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ "Corker says Democrat is ahead in race to succeed him". POLITICO. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c Scherer, Michael; Sullivan, Sean; Dawsey, Josh (April 19, 2018). "Razor-thin Senate majority, bloody primary fights hamstring GOP". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on April 20, 2018. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- ^ "Taylor Swift's Instagram Post Has Caused A Massive Spike In Voter Registration". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ "Shake it off: Taylor Swift's political endorsement draws praise, backlash". The Tennessean. Archived from the original on June 8, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ Chen, Kelly (October 8, 2018). "Mike Huckabee Dismisses Taylor Swift's Political Endorsement Because '13-Year-Old Girls' Can't Vote". Archived from the original on October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018 – via Huff Post.
- ^ Drucker, David M. (October 9, 2018). "Kavanaugh catapults Marsha Blackburn into lead in key Tennessee Senate race". The Washington Examiner. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ Arkin, James; Everett, Burgess (October 11, 2018). "Volunteers bolt Bredesen over Kavanaugh support". Politico. Retrieved March 2, 2019.