The 2022 Tennessee State Senate election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect 17 of the 33 seats for the Tennessee's State Senate. The elections coincided with the Governor, U.S. House, and State House elections. The primary elections were held on August 4, 2022.
Following the 2022 elections, no seats changed hands, leaving Tennessee's State Senate delegation at a 27âÂÂ6 Republican supermajority.
During the 2022 redistricting cycle, the Tennessee State Senate districts were adjusted through a combination of renumbering and boundary changes, some minor and others more significant. While several incumbents were assigned new district numbers, most continued to represent largely the same geographic areas. The plan generally consolidated safe areas and maintained a Republican gerrymander while reducing the number of competitive districts, providing protection to incumbents of both parties.
District 1 covers much of rural East Tennessee bordering Hamilton County and Georgia. The district includes all of Rhea, Meigs, and McMinn Counties and part of Bradley County. Communities in the district include Dayton, Decatur, Athens, and Cleveland.
Incumbent Republican Mike Bell was redistricted from the 9th district, where he won with 77.7% of the vote against Democrat Carl Lansden in 2018. Bell announced his retirement from the Senate. Republican Adam Lowe won the general election, succeeding Bell.
Declined
District 3 is based in Johnson City, the southernmost Tri-Cities, covering all of Johnson, Washington,and Carter County. Other communities in the district include Elizabethton, Jonesborough, Erwin, Oak Grove, and Unicoi.
Incumbent Republican Rusty Crowe was re-elected with 100% of the vote in 2018 with no opposition. He ran for re-election and won.
District 5 covers all of Anderson and Loudon Counties and part of Knox County in the Knoxville metropolitan area, including some of Knoxville proper as well as the surrounding communities of Clinton, Lenoir City, Loudon, Tellico Village, Oliver Springs, and northern Oak Ridge.
Incumbent Republican Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally was re-elected with 71.8% of the vote in 2018. He ran for re-election and won.
District 7 covers swath of Knox County, including parts of downtown Knoxville as well as nearby suburbs such as Farragut.
Incumbent Republican Richard Briggs was re-elected with 55.6% of the vote in 2018. He is ran for re-election and won.
District 9 is located to the northeast of Knoxville, and stretches to areas outside of the Tri-Cities region. It includes parts of the Morristown Metropolitan Area. It covers Sevier, Greene, Hamblen, Cocke, and Unicoi counties. Some notable cities in the district include Morristown, Newport, Gatlinburg, and Greeneville.
Incumbent Republican Steve Southerland was redistricted from the 1st district to the 9th district, where he won unopposed with 100% of the vote. He ran for re-election and won.
District 11 is based in the northern suburbs of Chattanooga in Hamilton County, including some of the city proper as well as Soddy-Daisy, Middle Valley, Signal Mountain, Harrison, and part of Collegedale and Red Bank.
Incumbent Republican Bo Watson was re-elected with 65.14% of the vote in 2018. He ran re-election and won.
District 13 is based in Murfreesboro, including most of the city proper and part of Smyrna and western Rutherford County.
Incumbent Republican Dawn White was re-elected with 57.07% of the vote in 2018. She ran for re-election and won.
District 15 covers much of rural Middle Tennessee, including all of Cumberland, Jackson, Putnam, Smith, Van Buren, and White Counties. Communities in the district include Cookeville, Crossville, Sparta, Fairfield Glade, Lake Tansi Village, Algood, Monterey, and Gainesboro.
Incumbent Republican Paul Bailey was re-elected with 73.64% of the vote in 2018. He ran for re-election and won.
District 17 covers rural and suburban and urban Middle Tennessee. It covers all of Wilson and the eastern part of Davidson County. Communities in the district includes Mount Juliet, Lebanon, Green Hill and part of Nashville.
During the 2022 redistricting cycle, TennesseeâÂÂs Republican-controlled Legislature enacted new state legislative maps that extended District 17 into Davidson County, including areas such as the Nashville International Airport. Civil rights groups criticized the change as diluting minority and Democratic voting strength, though courts later dismissed the related legal challenge.
Incumbent Republican Mark Pody was re-elected with 70.39% of the vote in 2018. He ran for re-election and won unopposed.
District 19 is based in downtown Nashville, covering some or all of North Nashville, Antioch, East Nashville, Madison, and Goodlettsville. The district, located in Davidson County, is the only majority-Black Senate district in the state outside of Memphis. A small part of the Nashville International Airport is located in this district.
Incumbent Democrat Brenda Gilmore was re-elected with 85.79% of the vote in 2018. Gilmore announced her retirement from the Senate. Democrat Charlane Oliver won the general election, succeeding Gilmore.
District 21 is a convoluted district covering much of central Nashville and its inner suburbs in Davidson County, snaking its way from the Nations and Sylvan Park, down to Berry Hill and Grassmere, eastwards to the border of La Vergne. Vanderbilt University is located within the district.
Incumbent Democratic Jeff Yarbro, was re-elected un-opposed with 100% of the vote in 2018. He is ran for re-election and won.
District 23 is based in the rural and suburban areas to the west of Nashville, covering all of Cheatham, Dickson, Hickman, Humphreys, Robertson Counties, and part of Montgomery County. Communities in the district include Springfield, Dickson, Ashland City, Waverly, Greenbrier, Coopertown, Centerville, Pleasant View, White Bluff, and parts of White House, Portland, and Millersville.
Incumbent Republican Kerry Roberts was redistricted from the 25th district, re-elected with 71.52% of the vote in 2018. He ran for re-election and won unopposed.
District 25 spans the state's border along the Mississippi River, also stretching inland to cover the city of Jackson. The district covers all of Crockett, Dyer, Lake, Madison, Henderson, Decatur, and Perry Counties; other communities within the district include Dyersburg, Tiptonville, Newbern, and Alamo.
Incumbent Republican Ed Jackson was redistricted from the 27th district, re-elected with 65.14% of the vote in 2018. He ran for re-election and won.
District 27 covers most of Williamson County in the southern suburbs of Nashville, including the communities of Franklin, Brentwood, Fairview, Nolensville. It also includes most of Thompson's Station and part of Spring Hill.
Incumbent Republican Jack Johnson was redistricted from the 23rd district, re-elected with 66.90% of the vote in 2018. He ran for reâÂÂelection in 2022 and faced a competitive Republican primary against Gary Humble, a grassroots conservative who criticized JohnsonâÂÂs record on key issues. Despite being outspent, HumbleâÂÂs campaign gained traction, making the race close. Johnson narrowly won the primary with 51.6% of the vote and was subsequently re-elected unopposed in the general election.
District 29 is based in Memphis, following the Mississippi River to cover parts of South and Downtown Memphis â including much of historic Beale Street â as well as Millington and other unincorporated Shelby County suburbs to the north.
Incumbent Democrat Raumesh Akbari was re-elected with 83.48% of the vote in 2018. She ran for re-election and won.
District 31 covers parts of Memphis and its immediate suburbs to the east, including Germantown and most of Collierville, and some of unincorporated Shelby County.
During the 2022 redistricting cycle, TennesseeâÂÂs Republican controlled Legislature enacted new state legislative maps that affected Senate District 31. As part of the reconfiguration of Shelby County, District 31 was adjusted to consolidate more Republican voters, effectively creating a Republican stronghold.
Incumbent Republican Brian Kelsey was re-elected with 50.89% of the vote in 2018. Republican Brent Taylor succeeded Kelsey and won the general election with 66.3% of the vote.
District 33 is based in South and Southwest Memphis, also covering small parts of Collierville and other Shelby County areas.
Former incumbent Democrat Katrina Robinson was elected with 100.00% of the vote in 2018. In 2022, Robinson was expelled due to her indictment on charges of wire fraud. Democrat London Lamar was appointed to the Tennessee Senate in March 2022 by the Shelby County Commission. Lamar was sworn in on March 8, 2022, and effectively resigned her house seat.
Lamar ran for a full term and won with 80.6% of the vote.