The 2020 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 3, 2020, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate. The 2020 U.S. presidential election and elections to the U.S. House of Representatives were also held, as well as the State Senate and State House elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Lamar Alexander announced that he would not run for re-election on December 17, 2018. The former United States Ambassador to Japan, Bill Hagerty won the open seat by a large margin defeating his Democratic opponent Marquita Bradshaw.
In the primary, President Donald Trump endorsed Hagerty. He ended up winning the Republican nomination, defeating orthopedic surgeon Manny Sethi and 13 others in the Republican primary. In the Democratic primary, environmental activist Marquita Bradshaw from Memphis defeated Robin Kimbrough Hayes, as well as three other candidates. Nine independent candidates also appeared on the general election ballot.
Bill Hagerty outperformed Donald Trump by nearly four percentage points during the general election, a gap largely attributed to his stronger performance in suburban areas across Tennessee. Hagerty ran particularly well in the suburbs of Nashville, including Forest Hills, Belle Meade, Oak Hill, Franklin, Hendersonville, and Murfreesboro. He also exceeded TrumpâÂÂs margins in suburban Memphis communities, most notably Germantown and Collierville as well as other surrounding suburbs.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in the primary
- Cliff Adkins
- Natisha Brooks
- Byron Bush, dentist
- Roy Dale Cope, small business owner and pharmacist
- Terry Dicus, attorney
- Tom Emerson Jr., Tea Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014
- George Flinn Jr., former Shelby County commissioner, Nixon Administration Official, physician, engineer, businessman, and Republican candidate in Tennessee's 8th congressional district in 2016 and 2018
- Jon Henry, U.S. Marine Corps veteran
- Kent Morrell, business owner
- Glen Neal Jr., retired public servant
- John Osborne, real estate agent and business owner
- Aaron Pettigrew, truck driver
- David Schuster, U.S. Navy veteran
- Manny Sethi, orthopedic surgeon, director of the Vanderbilt Orthopedic Institute Center for Health Policy and founder and president of the non-profit Healthy Tennessee
Disqualified from the primary ballot
Withdrawn
Declined
- Lamar Alexander, incumbent U.S. senator
- Mae Beavers, former state senator (endorsed Sethi)
- Diane Black, former U.S. representative for Tennessee's 6th congressional district and candidate for governor in 2018
- Randy Boyd, former Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, candidate for governor in 2018, and President of the University of Tennessee system
- Bob Corker, former U.S. senator
- Stephen Fincher, former U.S. representative for Tennessee's 8th congressional district and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018
- Chuck Fleischmann, U.S. representative for Tennessee's 3rd congressional district
- Mark E. Green, U.S. representative for Tennessee's 7th congressional district and former state senator
- Tre Hargett, Tennessee Secretary of State
- Beth Harwell, former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and candidate for governor in 2018
- Bill Haslam, former governor of Tennessee
- David Kustoff, U.S. representative for Tennessee's 8th congressional district and former U.S. Attorney
- Peyton Manning, retired NFL quarterback
- Jeff Webb, businessman (endorsed Sethi)
Endorsements
Polling
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in the primary
- Gary G. Davis, small business owner, baker, pilot, and perennial candidate
- Robin Kimbrough Hayes, attorney and Christian minister
- James Mackler, attorney, U.S. Army veteran and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2018
- Mark Pickrell, entrepreneur, attorney and Baptist deacon
Disqualified from the primary ballot
- Tharon Chandler, journalist, economist, and conservationist
Withdrawn
- Diana C. Onyejiaka, college professor and consultant
Declined
- Andy Berke, incumbent mayor of Chattanooga and former state senator
- Phil Bredesen, former mayor of Nashville and Governor of Tennessee and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018 (endorsed James Mackler)
- John Ray Clemmons, state representative and candidate for Mayor of Nashville in 2019
- Karl Dean, former mayor of Nashville and nominee for Governor of Tennessee in 2018
- Sara Kyle, incumbent state senator
- Tim McGraw, singer-songwriter
- Jason Powell, state representative, real estate agent, non-profit manager
- Madeline Rogero, former mayor of Knoxville
- Renata Soto, executive director of Conexión Américas
- Jeff Yarbro, minority leader of the Tennessee State Senate
Endorsements
Results
Independents
Declared
- Yomi Faparusi, physician, attorney, researcher, and former Republican candidate for Tennessee's 4th congressional district in 2014 and 2016
- Jeffrey Grunau, activist
- Ronnie Henley,
- Dean Hill, US veteran, former federal employee, and activist
- Steven Hooper
- Aaron James
- Elizabeth McLeod, conservative activist
- Eric William Stansberry
Withdrawn
- Tom Kovach, attorney
- Kacey Morgan, freelancer and operations director (endorsed Marquita Bradshaw) (remained on ballot)
General election
Predictions
Post-primary endorsements
Polling
with Bill Hagerty and James Mackler<br />
with Manny Sethi and James Mackler<br />
with Generic Republican and Generic Democrat<br />
Results
By county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
By congressional district
Hagerty won seven of nine congressional districts.
See also
Notes
Partisan clients<br />
References
External links
Official campaign websites