NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Democrats picked up ground in the Tennessee House of Representatives for the first time in eight years on Tuesday, ousting six Republican incumbents, though the GOP held on to its supermajority in the General Assembly.
Unofficial results showed the challengers winning in districts spread across the state. In Knox County’s District 18, Bryan Goldberg defeated Rep. Elaine Davis with 55.04% of the vote. In Montgomery County’s District 75, Allie Phillips topped Rep. Michael Lankford with 55.01%. Shelby County voters in District 97 went for Jesse Huseth, giving him 56.95% against Rep. John Gillespie.
Three more Republican incumbents fell in closer races. Connie Casha unseated Rep. Mike Sparks in District 49 with 55.07%, Owen Farnsworth edged Rep. Tim Rudd in District 33 with 51.96%, and Brent Windrow defeated Rep. Robert Stevens in District 13 with 51.44%.
Democrats also kept every House seat they already held. In the state Senate, Republicans lost none of the seats they had controlled, keeping a firm grip on the upper chamber, and several GOP lawmakers survived narrow contests in both chambers.
The gains come after years of Republican dominance in the legislature, where a supermajority has let the party pass bills and override vetoes without Democratic votes. Six seats do not change that math.
The legislative results arrived on the same night Democrats flipped a U.S. House seat in the 4th District, leaving Tennessee’s congressional delegation at eight Republicans and one Democrat, the same split it had before this year’s redistricting.
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