Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read August 2022 — Tennessee’s 2022 midterm elections are taking shape, with Republicans seeming to hold a steadfast grip on the state.
For the Tennessee Residence and the state gubernatorial election, it’s a faceoff between Republican incumbent Gov. Bill Lee, who faced no primary challengers and has ample funds available, against Democrat, doctor and political newcomer Jason Martin, a Nashville-based surgeon who emerged triumphant in the three-way Democratic primary on Aug. 4. Martin defeated community organizer Carnita Atwater and Memphis councilman JB Smiley Jr. for the nomination, clinching 39.4% of the vote to Smiley’s 38.8%. Atwater came in third place with 21.8% of the vote.
Martin has argued that Gov. Lee’s hands-off approach to the COVID-19 response cost unnecessary lives and has campaigned on a common-sense approach to governing, focusing on issues like healthcare access, medicaid expansion, abortion access, rural hospital closures and strong public schools. However, Gov. Lee remains the favorite, and the close three-way vote split amongst Democrats points to both Republican unity around Lee and a wider Democrat disadvantage.
Lee’s own record is nothing to shirk from however, with Tennessee being named the best fiscally managed state in the country, the best for business climate in the U.S., No. 1 in the nation for advanced industry job growth, and the best state for small business growth. One of the biggest wins during his tenure was Ford Motor Co., which has pledged to invest in a $5.6 billion production plant and employ some 6,000 Tennesseeans with its BlueOval City project
Lee ran unopposed, however voters still showed up in the hundreds of thousands, having secured 494,195 votes to a combined approximation of 250,000 for Democrats, reports Nashville’s WSMV 4. “So that’s a 2 to 1 edge for Republicans,” political analyst Kent Syler told the station. “Martin has already committed to going to all 95 counties. If he can go into some of these rural communities and reestablish the democratic brand in those areas, you can’t keep losing 80 to 20 percent in rural counties and expect to be a factor on the state level.”
Tennessee has not had a Democrat governor since Phil Bredesen left office in 2011. Martin will have to campaign hard to rebuild the Democratic brand across the state, which voted by an almost two-thirds margin for former President Donald Trump, 61% to Joe Biden’s 37%. Only three counties – Davidson, Haywood and Shelby – were won by Biden, coinciding with the cities of Nashville, Memphis and Brownsville.
While the race for governor will no doubt start to heat up as election day approaches in November, Tennessee has a few other statewide races, with the 5th Congressional District being the key race to watch as Republicans split Davidson County and Nashville amongst multiple congressional districts during the redistricting process. As it stands, Tennessee has two Democrats and seven Republicans in Congress, with Republicans hoping to secure an 8-1 advantage in Congress. Maury County Mayor and Republican Andy Ogles will face Democratic state Sen. Heidi Campbell for the key race in the 5th district, after Democrat Jim Cooper announced his retirement as a result of the new district boundaries.
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