Tennessee will hold its primary polls on August 4, 2022, launching electoral battles that can potentially disrupt the current Congressional majority that the Democratic party holds. While no Senate seats are on the ballot, the heavily Republican state will vote for nine House of Representatives seats.

A nine-way primary in a reconfigured congressional district in Nashville is being targetted by the Republicans, while Democrats will choose their nominee for governor in what could be a history-making bid to topple the GOP incumbent.  

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The Democratic governor’s race in Tennessee has three candidates. Carnita Atwater and JB Smiley Jr. can be the state’s first Black Democratic nominee for the governor’s office. Jason Martin is a physician running for political office for the first time, spurred by Republican governor Bill Lee‘s hands-off response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Redrawn congressional districts helped put Tennessee among the states where Republicans hope to flip a seat in a push to reclaim control of the US House of Representatives, providing the main drama in Tennessee’s primary elections on Thursday.

Nashville’s 5th Congressional District drew heavy interest from Republicans after GOP state lawmakers carved Democratic-tilted Nashville into three districts, favoring their party in each seat.

The longtime incumbent in the 5th District, Democratic US Representaive Jim Cooper, decided to retire, saying there was “no way” he could win reelection under the new redistricting maps. The new district favored Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Joe Biden by 12% in 2020.

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At least in Nashville, anyone who turns on a TV is more likely to see ads for a Republican running for the 5th Congressional District than a candidate for anything else, news agency AP reported.

Governor Bill Lee, meanwhile, can relax on primary election night. He avoided a Republican challenge. The last governor to enjoy an unopposed primary was Democratic governor Ned McWherter in 1990, according to Tennessee legislative historian Eddie Weeks.