2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee

The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the nine U.S. Representatives from the state of Tennessee, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including President of the United States. The primaries were held on August 4.

2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee

November 8, 2016
All nine Tennessee seats to the United States House of Representatives
Party Republican Democratic Last election 7 2 Seats won 7 2 Seat change Popular vote 1,493,740 814,181 Percentage 62.47% 34.05% Swing 0.56% 1.35%

District 1

Candidates

• Phil Roe, U.S. Representative
• Clint Tribble, conservative activist and YouTube personality

Results

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Phil Roe (incumbent)	35,350	82.2
	Republican	Clint Tribble	7,673	17.8
Total votes			43,023	100.0

Candidates

• Alan Bohms, executive director of the Volunteer Firefighter Alliance

Results

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Bohms	4,161	100.0

Candidates

• Phil Roe (Republican), U.S. Representative
• Alan Bohms (Democratic), Executive director of the Volunteer Firefighter Alliance
• Robert Franklin (Independent), U.S. Navy veteran
• Paul Krane (Independent write-in), student

Results

Tennessee's 1st congressional district, 2016[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Phil Roe (incumbent)	198,293	78.4
	Democratic	Alan Bohms	39,024	15.4
	Independent	Robert Franklin	15,702	6.2
	Independent	Paul Krane (write-in)	6	0.0
Total votes			253,025	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

Candidates

• John J. Duncan, Jr., U.S. Representative

Results

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John J. Duncan, Jr. (incumbent)	28,806	100.0

Candidates

• StuaRert Starr (Democratic), IT business owner and union organizer

Results

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	StuaRert Starr	7,851	100.0

Results

Tennessee's 2nd congressional district, 2016[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John J. Duncan, Jr. (incumbent)	212,455	75.6
	Democratic	Stuart Starr	68,401	24.4
Total votes			280,856	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

Republican primary

Incumbent Republican Representative Chuck Fleischmann won his primary with 84% of the vote.

Candidates

• Chuck Fleischmann, Incumbent Republican Representative
• Allan Levene
• Geoffery Suhmer Smith

Results

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chuck Fleischmann (incumbent)	31,964	83.9
	Republican	Geoffery Suhmer Smith	3,076	8.1
	Republican	Allan Levene	3,059	8.0
Total votes			38,099	100.0

Democratic primary

The Democrats nominated Melody Shekari, a policy analyst for the Chattanooga Department of Transportation.[3]

Candidates

• Michael Friedman
• George Ryan Love
• Melody Shekari

Results

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Melody Shekari	8,660	53.9
	Democratic	Michael Friedman	5,329	33.2
	Democratic	George Ryan Love	2,070	12.9
Total votes			16,059	100.0

General election

Shekari was endorsed by the Chattanooga Times Free Press[4] and the Knoxville News Sentinel.[5] Fleischmann was heavily favored to win re-election.

Results

Tennessee's 3rd congressional district, 2016[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chuck Fleischmann (incumbent)	176,613	66.4
	Democratic	Melody Shekari	76,727	28.9
	Independent	Rick Tyler	5,098	1.9
	Independent	Cassandra Mitchell	5,075	1.9
	Independent	Topher Kersting	2,493	0.9
Total votes			266,006	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

Republican primary

Scandal-ridden incumbent representative Scott DesJarlais had narrowly won his primary in 2012, and faced another competitive primary against Grant Starrett. While DesJarlais originally trailed Starrett in fundraising, the race tightened when a mailer sent out by the Starrett campaign sparked controversy over its alleged racism.[6]

Results

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Scott DesJarlais (incumbent)	24,211	52.1
	Republican	Grant Starrett	20,138	43.3
	Republican	Erran Persley	1,615	3.5
	Republican	Yomi Faparusi	493	1.1
Total votes			46,457	100.0

Democratic primary

Steven Reynolds, a manager in the construction industry, won the uncontested Democratic Primary.[7]

Results

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steven Reynolds	11,511	100.0

Results

Tennessee's 4th congressional district, 2016[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Scott DesJarlais (incumbent)	165,796	65.0
	Democratic	Steven Reynolds	89,141	35.0
Total votes			254,937	100.0
	Republican hold

District 5

Democratic primary

Incumbent Representative Jim Cooper won the uncontested Democratic Primary.

Results

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Cooper (incumbent)	32,103	100.0

Republican primary

Stacy Reis Snyder won the Republican Primary with 50.8% of the vote.

Candidates

• Jody Ball
• John "Big John" Smith
• Stacy Ries Snyder

Results

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stacy Ries Snyder	7,666	50.8
	Republican	John "Big John" Smith	4,295	28.5
	Republican	Jody Ball	3,124	20.7
Total votes			15,085	100.0

General election

Democrat Jim Cooper is heavily favored to win re-election due to Nashville's partisan composition.

Results

Tennessee's 5th congressional district, 2016[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Cooper (incumbent)	171,111	62.6
	Republican	Stacy Ries Snyder	102,433	37.4
Total votes			273,544	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 6

Candidates

• Diane Black, incumbent U.S. Representative
• Joe Carr, former state representative
• Donald Strong
• Tommy Hay

Results

Joe Carr attempted to ride anti-establishment sentiment to defeat incumbent Diane Black, who was openly considering a future run for governor. Despite a strong challenge, Black won re-election by a larger margin than expected.[8]

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Diane Black (incumbent)	33,215	63.7
	Republican	Joe Carr	16,665	31.9
	Republican	Donald Strong	1,354	2.6
	Republican	Tommy Hay	945	1.8
Total votes			52,179	100.0

Democratic primary

David Kent defeated Flo Matheson to be the Democratic nominee.

Results

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David Kent	7,551	67.0
	Democratic	Flo Matheson	3,714	33.0
Total votes			11,265	100.0

Results

Tennessee's 6th congressional district, 2016[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Diane Black (incumbent)	202,234	71.1
	Democratic	David Kent	61,995	21.8
	Independent	David Ross	20,261	7.1
Total votes			284,490	100.0
	Republican hold

District 7

Republican primary

Incumbent Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Tharon Chandler both ran in uncontested primaries.

Results

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marsha Blackburn (incumbent)	38,490	100.0

Candidates

• Tharon Chandler

Results

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tharon Chandler	9,956	100.0

General election

Blackburn dramatically outspent Chandler and easily won re-election.

Results

Tennessee's 7th congressional district, 2016[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marsha Blackburn (incumbent)	200,407	72.2
	Democratic	Tharon Chandler	65,226	23.5
	Independent	Leonard D. Ladner	11,880	4.3
Total votes			277,513	100.0
	Republican hold

District 8

Incumbent Republican Stephen Fincher announced he would not run for reelection.[9] David Kustoff won the crowded Republican primary with 27% of the vote.[10]

Candidates

Declared

• Ken Atkins, corrections officer and former car dealership owner[11]
• Hunter Baker, Union University professor[12]
• Steve Basar, Shelby County Commissioner[13]
• George Flinn, radiologist and perennial candidate[14]
• Brad Greer, businessman and political consultant[15]
• Brian Kelsey, state senator[16]
• David Kustoff, former U.S. Attorney[17]
• Tom Leatherwood, Shelby County Register of Deeds[18]
• Mark Luttrell, Shelby County Mayor[19]
• David Maldonado, businessman[20]

Declined

• Steve McManus, state representative[21][22]
• Mark Norris, Majority Leader of the Tennessee Senate[16][23]

Results

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Kustoff	16,889	27.4
	Republican	George Flinn	14,200	23.1
	Republican	Mark H. Luttrell	10,878	17.7
	Republican	Brian Kelsey	7,942	12.9
	Republican	Brad Greer	6,819	11.1
	Republican	Tom Leatherwood	2,620	4.3
	Republican	Hunter Baker	1,014	1.6
	Republican	Ken Atkins	410	0.7
	Republican	Raymond Honeycutt	231	0.4
	Republican	George B. Howell	211	0.3
	Republican	David Wharton	131	0.2
	Republican	Dave Bault	109	0.2
	Republican	David J Maldonado	76	0.1
Total votes			61,530	100.0

Democratic primary

Rickey Hobson, a manager at Delta Airlines and Fayette County resident, won the Democratic Primary with 55% of the vote.[24]

Candidates

• Gregory Alan Frye
• Rickey Hobson

Results

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Rickey Hobson	7,774	54.8
	Democratic	Gregory Alan Frye	6,413	45.2
Total votes			14,187	100.0

General election

The 8th District, consisting of Memphis' suburbs and much of rural West Tennessee, is strongly Republican, foreshadowing a likely Kustoff win.

Results

Tennessee's 8th congressional district, 2016[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	David Kustoff	194,386	68.7
	Democratic	Rickey Hobson	70,925	25.1
	Independent	Shelia L. Godwin	6,442	2.3
	Independent	James Hart	4,057	1.4
	Independent	Adrian M. Montague	2,497	0.9
	Independent	Mark J. Rawles	2,445	0.9
	Independent	Karen Free Spirit Talley-Lane	1,981	0.7
Total votes			282,733	100.0
	Republican hold

District 9

Candidates

• Steve Cohen, incumbent U.S. Representative
• Larry Crim, perennial candidate
• Justin Ford, Shelby County Commission Chairman
• Larry Williams

Results

Democratic primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Cohen (incumbent)	35,645	85.5
	Democratic	Justin Ford	4,165	10.0
	Democratic	M. LaTroy Williams	1,452	3.5
	Democratic	Larry Crim	406	1.0
Total votes			41,668	100.0

Candidates

• Wayne Alberson[25]

Results

Republican primary results[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wayne Alberson	38,490	100.0

Albertson won the uncontested primary.[26]

Results

Tennessee's 9th congressional district, 2016[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Cohen (incumbent)	171,631	78.7
	Republican	Wayne Alberson	41,123	18.9
	Independent	Paul Cook	5,203	2.4
Total votes			217,957	100.0
	Democratic hold

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections, 2016
• United States elections, 2016

References

1. "Election Results - Primary". Tennessee Secretary of State. August 4, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
2. https://sos-tn-gov-files.s3.amazonaws.com/USHousebyCountyNov2016.pdf
3. "A little about Melody Shekari, who is running for U.S. House District 3". Archived from the original on September 22, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
4. "Chattanooga Times announces endorsement for 3rd District House seat". Retrieved September 14, 2016.
5. "Roe, Fleischmann, Shekari picks for primary election". Retrieved September 14, 2016.
6. "Grant Starrett mailer attacking DesJarlais also offends Muslims". Retrieved September 14, 2016.
7. "Steven Reynolds for US Congress". Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
8. "U.S. Rep. Diane Black crushes Joe Carr in GOP primary". Retrieved September 14, 2016.
9. Collins, Michael (February 1, 2016). "U.S. Rep. Fincher says he won't run for reelection". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
10. "Memphis Jewish lawyer David Kustoff wins GOP primary in Tennessee". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
11. Humphrey, Tom (February 9, 2016). "Sixth GOP candidate files in 8th Congressional District". Humphrey on the Hill. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
12. Allen, Bob (March 8, 2016). "Baptist political science prof running for Congress". Baptist News Global. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
13. "Lee Harris Out, Steve Basar In?". Memphis Flyer. January 28, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
14. "Contenders Emerge for Fincher's Seat". Memphis Daily News. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
15. "Jackson businessman Brad Greer announces run for Congress". WBBJ-TV. February 4, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
16. "Tennessee's Stephen Fincher Won't Run in 2016". Roll Call. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
17. "Three candidates vying for Rep. Fincher's congressional seat". WREG. February 2, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
18. "U.S. Rep. Fincher not seeking re-election". Jackson SUn. February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
19. Callahan, Jody; Royer, David (February 29, 2016). "Luttrell announces his run for Congress". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
20. Collins, Michael (March 7, 2016). "Collierville businessman to seek Fincher's seat". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
21. "Republicans line up for Rep. Fincher's seat". Commercial Appeal. February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
22. Locker, Richard (February 3, 2016). "State Rep. McManus changes his mind on Congressional run". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
23. Locker, Richard (March 3, 2016). "Norris says he won't run for Congress". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
24. "Rickey Hobson for Congress". rickeyhobson. Archived from the original on September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
25. "Tennessee Secretary of State" (PDF). tensos.net. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
26. "Tennessee Primary Election Results 2016: House Live Map by District, Real-Time Voting Updates". Election Hub. Retrieved September 14, 2016.