Tennessee 2018 Election Results: Blackburn, Lee Take Home Wins

NASHVILLE, TN — Republican political newcomer Bill Lee will be the state's next governor and Republicna U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn won the race for U.S. Senate in a night where the so-called "blue wave" failed to reach Tennessee voters. Republicans won seven of nine House seats up for grabs in the state even as anti-Trump sentiment propelled Democrats to gain control of the chamber for the first time in eight years.

Tennessee is no longer the battleground state it once was, instead drifting toward one of the country's most reliably Republican states.

On the Republican side, Phil Roe, Tim Burchett, Chuck Fleishmann, Scott DesJarlais, John Rose, Mark Green and David Kustoff were all declared winners in their House races by The Associated Press on Tuesday night. Democrats Jim Cooper and Steve Cohen also emerged victorious.

None of the races were close.

Lee will succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Bill Haslam and Blackburn will replace Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker.

The 2018 midterm election was, in many ways, a referendum on President Donald Trump's unorthodox presidency. The high-stakes battle tipped the balance in the U.S. House in Democrats' favor. Voter turnout was likely higher this year, too.

Nashville was on pace to see a higher turnout this year than the 2016 presidential election, according to Nashville Public Radio, and voters across the state grappled with long lines and even possible voter intimidation. One photo posted on Twitter showed two parallel lines of people patiently waiting to vote at a polling location in Valley View. The lines stretched the length of the hallway.

Return here to see all Tennessee election results.

Governor

Tennessee was one of 36 states having a gubernatorial election this year in a state that voted for the Republican presidential candidate in each of the last five elections. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam is term-limited, and Bill Lee, a Republican political newcomer, successfully ran to succeed him. Lee beat out Karl Dean, the Democratic former mayor of Nashville. While his inexperience could've hurt him, Lee entered the race as the heavy favorite and earned a prominent endorsement from none other than President Donald Trump.

Republicans hold a firm grip on the state government, controlling the governor's office and both chambers of the General Assembly, as well as the offices of both the attorney general and the secretary of state. The Cook Political Report, which handicaps election races, said the race would likely swing for Republicans, and recent polls showed Lee leading Dean by between 11 and 26 points, according to RealClearPolitics. The average of the polls, conducted between Sept. 29 and Oct. 13, put Lee's lead at 18 points.

Furthermore, two race-trackers said the race would likely go to Lee, and a third called it safely Republican. FiveThirtyEight gave him a 98.5 percent chance of winning.

On The Issues

Education:

Lee: Bring back real vocational education to schools, reduce testing burden on teachers, improve the working environment and give parents meaningful school choice.

Dean: Give schools with smaller tax bases more money, pay teachers more and give them more professional development, expand pre-K and early reading programs, expand vocational programs.

Senate

The nation's eyes — Democrats, in particular — were on the U.S. Senate race, and it was somewhat close throughout the night. Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, who was first elected 12 years ago, decided not to seek a third term, opening the door for Democrats to possibly swoop in and pick up a seat in the narrowly — and bitterly — divided Senate. Thirty-five of the 100 Senate seats were on the ballot this year, and CNN called Tennessee's the most important in the entire country because it's one place where polls indicated Democrats could actually win.

But voters chose Blackburn over former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen, giving her about 55 percent of the vote.

Blackburn has been a federal lawmaker since 2003 and was a state senator for four years before that. She earned a bachelor's degree in home economics and also owns a promotion event management company.

According to her campaign website, Blackburn hopes to continue to cut taxes, confirm strict constitutional justices to the U.S. Supreme Court and fight the opioid epidemic.

Her opponent, Bredesen, served as governor from 2003 to 2011 and was the mayor of Nashville for eight years in the 1990s. He earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard University and was campaigning on his experience and ability to work with Republicans. Bredesen, who previously worked in the health care industry, wanted to use his experience as a businessman and politician to improve the economy, push for common-sense health care solutions and strengthen public schools.

According to the Cook Political Report, the race was considered one of just four toss-ups in the country, meaning no one had an advantage. According to RealClearPolitics, Blackburn had a 6.5-point advantage based on polls conducted from Sept. 29 to Oct. 13. Interestingly, the most recent poll by Vanderbilt University had Bredesen leading by a single point.

Meanwhile, FiveThirtyEight gave Blackburn an 83.5 percent chance of winning.

House

Nine candidates were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives this year, but not a single race was expected to be competitive. Republicans won seven of the state's seats, as expected by election gurus.

District 1

Incumbent Republican Phil Roe, who has held the seat in the deep red northeastern part of the state for nine years, defeated Democratic challenger Marty Olsen. One independent was also in the race. The election forecasters at FiveThirtyEight gave Roe a 99.9 percent chance of winning.

District 2

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. John Duncan Jr., first elected in 1988, over the summer decided not to seek re-election in the heavily Republican northeastern Tennessee district. Democrat Renee Hoyos hoped to take down Republican Tim Burchett, but the odds weren't in her favor and she was easily defeated. The district went Republican in the last two presidential elections by a wide margin and was considered one of the most right-leaning in the country. Furthermore, FiveThirtyEight gave Burchett a 99.9 percent chance of winning.

District 3

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Fleischmann, first elected eight years ago, successfully ran for re-election against Democratic challenger Danielle Mitchell in a heavily Republican district located in the eastern part of the state. The district went Republican by a wide margin in the last two presidential elections, including 60 percent for Trump, and was considered one of the safest districts in the country. FiveThirtyEight gave Fleischmann a 99.9 percent chance of winning.

District 4

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, who has been in office since 2010, defeated Democratic challenger Mariah Phillips in a heavily Republican district, located in the south-central part of the state. The district went Republican by a large margin in the last two presidential elections and also was considered one of the safest seats in the country. FiveThirtyEight gave DesJarlais a 99.4 percent chance of winning.

District 5

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, who has held the seat since 2002, defeated Republican challenger Jody Ball in the left-leaning district, located in the central part of the state. The district went Democrat in the last two presidential elections and FiveThirtyEight expected it would go blue in this election as well, giving Cooper a 99.9 percent chance of winning.

District 6

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Diane Black has held the seat since being elected in 2010, but opted to run for governor this year rather than seek re-election. She lost in her primary. She'll be replaced by Republican John Rose, former state agriculture commissioner, who easily won the heavily Republican district located in the north-central part of the state. He defeated Democrat Dawn Barlow in the race.

Rose was expected to cruise to victory, with FiveThirtyEight giving him a 99.9 percent chance to win. The district went red in the past two presidential elections by a wide margin and was considered one of the safest seats in the country.

District 7

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn decided to run for Senate and fellow Republican Mark Green will replace her in the heavily right-leaning district, located in the southwestern and central part of the state. Green, a state senator since 2012, defeated Democratic challenger Justin Kanew, a writer and producer who was twice a contestant on the CBS show "The Amazing Race."

Kanew has long odds to win from the get-go. The 7th District, like many others in the state, was considered reliably Republican and went red by a wide margin in the past two presidential elections. FiveThirtyEight also gave Green a 99.9 percent chance of winning.

District 8

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. David Kustoff defeated Democrat Erika Stotts Pearson in the heavily Republican northwestern part of the state. Like many others, the district went red by a large margin in the past two presidential elections and was expected to do so again in this race. FiveThirtyEight gave Kustoff a 99.9 percent chance of winning.

District 9

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, who has held the seat since 2006, defeated Charlotte Bergmann in the heavily left-leaning district, located in the southwestern part of the state. Bergmann, a former FedEx technology project manager who now runs a small business, is unlikely to win, with FiveThirtyEight giving Cohen a 99.9 percent chance to win. The district went blue by a massive margin the past two presidential elections and was considered one of the safest Democratic seats in the country.

Photo credit: Voters cast their ballots at a polling station at the John P. Holt Brentwood Library in Brentwood, Tennessee. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)