🔴 Live Updates: Republicans defend Tennessee governor’s office with razor-thin margin as congressional seats flip

What This Story Is About

• Tennesseans made their selections for state and federal offices as the polls open on Election Day for the 2026 midterms.

Why It Matters

• The general election will decide who represents Tennessee in state and federal offices.

What Happens Next

• Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 3 — was the last chance for Tennesseans to cast their votes in the 2026 midterms.

For Context

• Early voting wrapped up on October 29, with Tennessee election officials reporting nearly 1.3 million votes. That is more than 45% ahead of what the state saw during the 2022 midterms.

Catch Up

• Election 2026 voter guide: Key dates, deadlines and what you need to know for Tennessee’s November 3 general election
• 2026 Election: These 3 changes could be coming to the Tennessee Constitution. Here’s what to know.
• Election 2026: Here’s everything you need to know about TN’s candidates for governor and Congress
• Election 2026: Everything you need to know about TN House and Senate candidates

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Tennessee saw a surge in voter turnout on Tuesday night, surpassing the number of ballots cast four years ago in the last midterms.

Voters elected Marsha Blackburn as the first female governor, flipped two U.S. House seats and made decisions on races for U.S. Senate, Tennessee Senate and Tennessee House seats.

Follow our live coverage of the midterms below, and see a full list of election results here.

November 4 Updates:

12:58 p.m. - Democrat Jerri Green has released a statement on the results of the governor’s race.

12:03 p.m. - This interactive map shows the newly-elected or re-elected U.S. representatives for each Tennessee congressional district. Hover over or click on each district for details.

11:55 a.m. - Gov. Bill Lee spoke in Nashville with Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn on Wednesday morning.

Watch their speeches below.

9:03 a.m. - Gov. Bill Lee released a statement overnight congratulating Marsha Blackburn on her win.

9 a.m. - Tennessee’s Congressional map saw two major changes on Tuesday night: Republicans flipped District 9 and Democrats flipped District 4.

Take a look at the changes below.

Election Night Updates:

11:42 p.m. - Republican Brent Taylor is projected as the winner for Tennessee’s newly redrawn 9th Congressional District, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. He takes the win over Democrat Justin Pearson.

11:31 p.m. - Republican Marsha Blackburn will be the first female governor of Tennessee, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. The office called the race after she received 45.52% of the vote Tuesday night, defeating Democratic nominee Jerri Green, who received 42.95% of the vote.

11:27 p.m. - Republican Charlie Hatcher has won over Democrat Chaz Molder, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. Hatcher will go on to represent Tennessee’s District 5 in the U.S. House of Representatives.

11:22 p.m. - All three constitutional amendments have passed in Tennessee, according to the Secretary of State.

11:07 p.m. - Democratic incumbent Justin Jones has been re-elected to his seat for District 52 in the Tennessee State House, defeating Republican Michele Vetter and Independent Martez Coleman, according to the Associated Press.

Get live results from WSMV4 here.

11:04 p.m. - Gino Bulso, the GOP incumbent for Tennessee House District 61, has defeated Democratic candidate Becca Ripley, defending his seat in the state house.

11 p.m. - The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office has projected Matt Van Epps as the winner in the race for Tennessee’s 7th congressional district in the U.S. House. He defeated Democratic opponent Darden Copeland.

10:57 p.m. - Republican incumbent William Lamberth has been re-elected to serve District 44 in the Tennessee State House, defeating Democrat Latoya Holcomb, according to the Associated Press.

Get live results from WSMV4 here.

10:48 p.m. - Democratic candidate for governor Jerri Green took the stage at her election camp and gave an apparent concession speech. This comes after Marsha Blackburn declared herself the winner of the election.

At this time, no official winner has been declared and not all precincts are reporting their numbers.

10:39 p.m. - Republican Johnny Garrett is projected to win the race for Tennessee’s 6th congressional district for the U.S. House, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State.

10:29 p.m. - The Tennessee Secretary of State’s website has once again gone down. At last check, about 89% of votes were counted in the governor’s race. A winner has yet to be declared.

10:25 p.m. - Democrat Victoria Broderick is the projected winner of Tennessee’s 4th congressional district race, defeating Republican incumbent Scott DesJarlais, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State.

10:16 p.m. - Republican Tim Burchett has defeated Democrat Michaela Barnett in the race for the Tennessee District 2 seat in the U.S. House. Follow live election results here.

10:11 p.m. - Republican Marsha Blackburn has declared herself the winner of Tennessee’s governor race, even though no official winner had been declared and not all votes have been counted.

Get live results from WSMV4 here.

10:03 p.m. - In the last leg of the governor’s race - at more than 85% of votes counted - the state’s election results website has crashed again. You can still follow election results here.

10 p.m. - Jerri Green won the Davidson County governor’s race by a margin of more than 112,000 votes over Marsha Blackburn, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State’s website. Votes have been tallied at all precincts in Tennessee’s capital county. There are still eight counties left to complete vote counts across the state.

9:56 p.m. - Voter turnout in Davidson County has been higher this year than in the 2022 midterms, but it still finished lower than 2018.

Get live results from WSMV4 here.

9:44 p.m. - Final vote counts have been tallied in Davidson County.

9:36 p.m. - Democratic incumbent Shaundelle Brooks has gained a strong lead over GOP challenger Eva Romero in the race for State House District 60. About 61% of votes have been tabulated for the Middle Tennessee race, and Brooks has 67% of those votes.

9:33 p.m. - The AP has called the races for U.S. House District 1 and State House District 25, with Republicans Diana Harshbarger and Cameron Sexton winning re-election to their respective seats.

9:20 p.m. - Votes from more than half of Tennessee’s counties have been counted in the races for governor and U.S. Congress. Results are continuing to roll in.

Get live results from WSMV4 here.

9:16 p.m. - All Davidson County votes are officially in-office and are being counted at this time.

Get live results from WSMV4 here.

9:09 p.m. - Democratic governor candidate Jerri Green’s camp says they’re feeling a lot of positive momentum as votes continue to pour in for Tennessee’s midterm election.

8:49 p.m. - Republican Senator Bill Hagerty has been re-elected to the U.S. Senate representing Tennessee, NBC News predicts. This will be Hagerty’s second term in the U.S. Senate.

Get live results from WSMV4 here.

8:48 p.m. - Over 50% of ballots have been counted in the Tennessee governor’s race. So far, Jerri Green and Marsha Blackburn are neck-and-neck, each at about 44% of the vote. Keep track of the latest tallies here.

8:35 p.m.- Nearly a third of Tennessee counties’ votes have been counted in the 2026 midterm election. Election officials are continuing to count ballots across the state.

Get live results from WSMV4 here.

8:12 p.m. - Key races, including the governor and U.S. Senate, tighten as votes are counted across Tennessee.

For context, WSMV4 Investigative Reporter Stacey Cameron says a big chunk of the votes are coming from Memphis, Chattanooga and Knoxville, which are largely Democratic areas. This could be skewing early results in favor of Jerri Green, Justin Pearson and Marquita Bradshaw.

Get live results from WSMV4 here.

7:54 p.m. - A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Office said in an email to WSMV4 that high user volume could be causing its election tracker to keep crashing.

“In the last 30 minutes we’ve had 18,000 users and 5,000 in the last few minutes,” the spokesperson said.

Those using the website to track results are asked to just refresh the page until it corrects.

Get live results from WSMV4 here.

7:41 p.m. - The Tennessee Secretary of State’s election tracker has crashed multiple times as election results are rolling in. WSMV4 is reaching out to his office for comment.

Get live results here.

7:21 p.m. - Aftyn Behn has been re-elected to serve in the Tennessee House for District 51, the AP predicts. She ran unopposed.

Get live results here.

7:12 p.m. - Election results have started to come in for the 2026 midterm election in Tennessee. Get live results here.

7 p.m. - Polls have closed in Tennessee for the 2026 midterm election. Get live election results here as races are called across the state.

6:30 p.m. - WSMV4 has crews at election parties for Marsha Blackburn (R), Jerri Green (D), Charlie Hatcher (R) and Chaz Moulder (D). Watch live as these candidates prepare for results.

6 p.m. - Polls close in one hour. If you’re a last-minute voter, here’s what you need to know about the governor, federal and state races.

1:38 p.m. - The Tennessee Secretary of State is warning voters about scam texts messages containing incorrect information about when polls close.

10 a.m. - Power outages affect West End Fire Station polling location, but generators kept voting machines going without interruption.

9 a.m. - Voters report long wait times at CWA Local 3808 polling location on Elm Hill Pike.

8 a.m. - Voters hit the polls to decide who becomes governor, represents Tennessee in Congress, and if three changes to the state’s constitution become law.

7 a.m. - Polls open for voters across Tennessee

6:25 a.m. - Department of Justice deploys largest election monitoring effort in all 50 states

What do you need to vote in Tennessee?

The state has an online hub called GoVoteTN.gov to help voters get to the polls on Election Day. The hub is also available as a free mobile app.

Only registered voters can cast a ballot. Tennessee voters must bring a valid photo ID to the polls. The state accepts a Tennessee driver’s license, a state-issued photo ID or a federal government-issued photo ID, including an expired ID.

Voters can use the state’s GoVoteTN website or mobile app to register, check their registration, find their polling location, locate their county election commission and track an absentee ballot.

Click the links below to access resources to help voters prepare to cast their ballots:

• Register to vote
• Check your voter registration status
• Finding your polling location and its hours
• Find your county’s election commission
• Check the status of your absentee ballot
• Sign up to be a poll worker