Tennessee House Races 2026: All-Republican Delegation
9 seats total · 9 Republicans, 0 Democrats · Nashville split across TN-5/6/7 · Mark Green (TN-7) resigned · R+25 state · No competitive seats
Tennessee Full House Delegation
Key Stories in Tennessee's Delegation
How Republicans Split Nashville Across Three Districts
The most significant story in Tennessee congressional politics is the Republican legislature's deliberate cracking of Nashville across three congressional districts. Nashville and Davidson County are heavily Democratic — the city voted 75% for Biden in 2020. Under previous maps, Nashville-centered TN-5 elected Jim Cooper, a moderate Democrat who served for decades. After the 2020 census, Tennessee Republicans split Davidson County into thirds, distributing Nashville's Democratic voters among TN-5, TN-6, and TN-7 — all of which contain enough surrounding suburban and rural Republican voters to guarantee Republican victories. Democrats challenged the map in federal court under the Voting Rights Act, but the challenge was unsuccessful. The result: Tennessee's second-largest city, a music and tech hub of 700,000 people, has zero congressional representation that reflects its actual political preferences. Andy Ogles (R) now represents the TN-5 portion of Nashville.
Mark Green: Failed SecDef Nomination, Then Retirement
Mark Green (R) represented TN-7, a district covering Clarksville, Fort Campbell, and the western Nashville suburbs. Trump nominated Green to be Secretary of Defense in December 2024, generating significant attention given Green's controversial statements on LGBTQ issues, religion in government, and foreign policy. Green withdrew from consideration before formal hearings, citing the prospect of a divisive confirmation process. With his cabinet ambitions thwarted, Green announced he would not seek re-election to his House majority. TN-7 is an R+25 district — the Republican primary will determine the next representative, not the general election. Fort Campbell, one of the largest Army installations in the world straddling the Tennessee-Kentucky border, is the dominant economic and political fact in the district. Any credible Republican candidate with military ties will win the primary and the seat easily.
Memphis: Tennessee's Lone Democratic Seat
Steve Cohen (D) has represented Memphis's 9th district since 2007, making him the longest-serving Democrat in Tennessee's congressional delegation. Cohen is white and represents a majority-Black district — an anomaly that generates periodic primary challenges, none of which have succeeded. Memphis, the largest city in Tennessee, votes heavily Democratic, with a D+30+ partisan index in the 9th district. Cohen serves on the House Judiciary Committee and has been an outspoken progressive voice on civil rights, drug policy reform (he has advocated for marijuana legalization for years), and judicial oversight. The Memphis economy is anchored by FedEx (headquartered in Memphis), Memphis International Airport (the second-busiest cargo airport in the world), healthcare (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital), and logistics. Despite Cohen's safe seat, Tennessee's overall R+25 presidential lean leaves him as a political island in a sea of Republican representation.
