Tennessee State Senate elections, 2010

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Tennessee State House elections, 2010

Majority control • Campaign contributions

Qualifications • Competitiveness analysis

State Legislative Election Results

List of candidates District 1 • District 3 • District 5 • District 7 • District 9 • District 11 • District 13 • District 15 • District 17 • District 19 • District 21 • District 23 • District 25 • District 27 • District 29 • District 31 • District 33

Tennessee State Senate State legislative elections, 2010

Elections for the office of Tennessee state Senate were held in Tennessee on November 2, 2010. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 1, 2010, and the primary election day was on August 5, 2010.

Tennessee State Senators serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits.

In the 2010 elections, Republicans gained one seat and retained a majority in the chamber.

See also: Tennessee State Senate and State legislative elections, 2010

November 2 General Election Results

The following candidates won election on November 2, 2010:

1. Bill Ketron
2. Bo Watson
3. Brian Kelsey
4. Charlotte Burks
5. Douglas Henry
6. Jack Johnson
7. Jim Summerville
8. Lowe Finney
9. Mae Beavers
10. Mike Bell (Tennessee)
11. Ophelia Ford
12. Randy McNally
13. Reginald Tate
14. Rusty Crowe
15. Thelma Harper
16. Steve Southerland (Tennessee)
17. Stacey Campfield

Majority control

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 2 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Tennessee State Senate:

Tennessee State Senate
Party		As of November 1, 2010	After the 2010 Election
	Democratic Party	14	13
	Republican Party	19	20
Total		33	33

Campaign contributions

See also: State-by-state comparison of donations to state senate campaigns

This chart shows how many candidates ran for state senate in Tennessee in past years and the cumulative amount of dollars raised in state senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.

Year	Number of candidates	Total contributions
2010	44	$4,275,730
2008	39	$7,012,743
2006	45	$5,088,077
2004	34	$6,550,262
2002	48	$3,260,212

In 2010, the candidates for state senate raised a total of $4,275,730 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:

Donor	Amount
Henry, Douglas	$314,500
Tennessee Democratic Party	$120,434
Herron, Governor Roy	$116,058
Tennessee Medical Association	$98,600
McDonald, George	$83,100
Federal Express	$82,300
Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association	$61,250
Tennessee Bankers Association	$52,500
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee	$46,000
Farris Mathews Branan Bobango & Hellen	$44,050

Incumbency

Unopposed incumbents

6 incumbents (40%) faced no competition in the November 2 general election.

• 2 Democratic incumbents faced no November challenger.
• 4 GOP incumbents faced no November challenger.

Primary challenges

Two incumbents (13.3%) faced competition in the August 5 primary. Both incumbents (one Democrat and one Republican) who faced competition won their primaries.

Incumbents who won their primaries:

• District 21: Incumbent Democrat Douglas Henry
• District 17: Incumbent Republican Mae Beavers

Retiring incumbents

Two incumbent representatives did not run for re-election, while 15 incumbents (8%) ran for re-election. Of the 2 incumbents who did not run for re-election, both were Republicans.

Incumbents who retired were:

• District 7: Incumbent Republican Tim Burchett.
• District 9: Incumbent Republican Dewayne Bunch.

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve in the Tennessee State Senate, a candidate must be:

• A U.S. citizen
• 30 years old before the general election
• A three-year resident of Tennessee before the general election
• A district resident for 1 year prior to the general election
• A qualified voter

• The following situations would eliminate a candidate from qualifying for office:
  • Those who have been convicted of offering or giving a bribe, or of larceny, or any other offense declared infamous by law, unless restored to citizenship in the mode pointed out by law;
  • Those against whom there is a judgment unpaid for any moneys received by them, in any official capacity, due to the United States, to this state, or any county thereof;
  • Those who are defaulters to the treasury at the time of the election, and the election of any such person shall be void;
  • Soldiers, seamen, marines, or airmen in the regular army or navy or air force of the United States; and
  • Members of congress, and persons holding any office of profit or trust under any foreign power, other state of the union, or under the United States.

List of candidates

Partisan dominance in state senates heading into the 2010 state legislative elections

2010 State senate elections
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Parties with candidates
Impact of term limits
Successful challengers
Defeated incumbents
State house elections
State senate elections
State legislative elections

District 1

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Jackson West: 3,180 a

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Steve Southerland: 23,292 a Incumbent Republican Southerland was first elected to District 1 in 2002.

November 2 General election candidates:

Jackson West 7,381

Steve Southerland 32,310

District 3

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Thomas Ken Owens: 1,367 a

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Rusty Crowe: 20,236 a Incumbent Republican Crowe was first elected to District 3 in 1990.

November 2 General election candidates:

Thomas Ken Owens 7,437

Rusty Crowe 32,736

District 5

August 5 Democratic primary result:

No Democrat ran for this seat.

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Randy McNally: 27,922 a Incumbent McNally, a Republican, was first elected to the 5th District in 1986.

November 2 General election candidates:

Randy McNally 44,067

District 7

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Randy Walker: 1,949 a

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Stacey Campfield: 7,708 a
• Steve Hill: 4,259
• Nicholas Ciparro: 384
• Ron Leadbetter: 0

Note: Incumbent Tim Burchett (R) did not seek re-election. He was first elected to District 7 in 1998.

Independent candidate:

• Chuck Williams

November 2 General election candidates:

Randy Walker 14,514

Stacey Campfield 22,661

Chuck Williams 2,470

District 9

August 5 Democratic primary result:

No Democrat ran for this seat.

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Mike Bell (Tennessee): 18,254 a
• Lou Patten: 8,502

November 2 General election candidates:

Mike Bell (Tennessee) 31,628

District 11

August 5 Democratic primary result:

No Democrat ran for this seat.

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Bo Watson: 22,396 a Incumbent Watson, a Republican, was first elected to the 11th District in 2006.

November 2 General election candidates:

Bo Watson 42,140

District 13

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Debbie Matthews: 7,941 a

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Bill Ketron: 21,284 a Incumbent Republican Ketron was first elected to the 13th District in 2002.

November 2 General election candidates:

Debbie Matthews 17,478

Bill Ketron 40,998

District 15

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Charlotte Burks: 13,132 a Incumbent Democrat Burks was first elected to District 15 in 1998.

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Gary Steakley: 15,965 a

Independent candidate:

• Joe Wilmoth

November 2 General election candidates:

Charlotte Burks 22,800

Gary Steakley 22,615

Joe Wilmoth 8,779

District 17

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• George McDonald: 6,282 a
• Sam Hatcher: 5,879
• Aubrey Givens: 2,861

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Mae Beavers: 13,499 a Incumbent Beavers was first elected to the 17th District in 2002.
• Susan Lynn: 11,860
• Gordon Borck: 2,569

November 2 General election candidates:

George McDonald 21,442

Mae Beavers 35,927

District 19

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Thelma Harper: 7,009 a Incumbent Harper, a Democrat, was first elected to the 19th District in 1998.

August 5 Republican primary result:

No Republican ran for this seat.

November 2 General election candidates:

Thelma Harper 24,569

District 21

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Jeff Yarbro: 5,717
• Douglas Henry: a 5,734 Incumbent Democrat Henry was first elected to District 21 in 1970.

Note: This race required an official recount.

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Steven Dickerson: 5,515 a
• James Chesser: 4,158

November 2 General election candidates:

Douglas Henry 27,117

Steven Dickerson 20,775

District 23

August 5 Democratic primary result:

No Democrat ran for this seat.

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Jack Johnson: 22,471 a Incumbent Johnson, a Republican, was first elected to District 23 in 2006.

Write-in candidate

• Melanie Hollis Hollis did not appear on the ballot but was campaigning as a write-in candidate.

November 2 General election candidates:

Jack Johnson 64,891

(write-in) Melanie Hollis 288

District 25

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Doug Jackson: 12,542 a Incumbent Democrat Jackson was first elected to District 25 in 2000.

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Jim Summerville: 13,735 a

November 2 General election candidates:

Doug Jackson 20,455

Jim Summerville 21,375

District 27

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Lowe Finney: 9,996 a Incumbent Democrat Finney was first elected to District 27 in 2006.

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Don McLeary: 13,986 a
• Jim Harding: 7,499

November 2 General election candidates:

Lowe Finney 25,885

Don McLeary 24,666

District 29

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Ophelia Ford: 14,088 a Incumbent Ford, a Democrat, was first elected to the 29th District in 2005.

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Robert Hill: 3,687 a

Independent candidate:

• Herman Sawyer

November 2 General election candidates:

Ophelia Ford 18,234

Robert Hill 7,657

Herman Sawyer 2,946

District 31

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Ivon Faulkner: 10,197 a

August 5 Republican primary result:

• Brian Kelsey: 23,845 a Incumbent Kelsey, a Republican, was first elected to the 31st District in 2009.

November 2 General election candidates:

Ivon Faulkner 19,405

Brian Kelsey 35,267

District 33

August 5 Democratic primary result:

• Reginald Tate: 19,666 a Incumbent Democrat Tate was first elected to District 33 in 2006.

August 5 Republican primary result:

No Republican ran for this seat.

November 2 General election candidates:

Reginald Tate 32,336

See also

• Tennessee State Senate
• Tennessee State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2010
• Primary election dates in 2010

External links

• Official State Senate Results, 2010
• List of 2010 candidates for Tennessee State Senate
• Tennessee Democratic Party's list of 2010 candidates (dead link)
• Unofficial Democratic state senate primary results from the TN Secretary of State
• Unofficial Republican state senate primary results from the TN Secretary of State
• Project Vote Smart list of candidates for Tennessee State Senate in the November 2, 2010 election

Footnotes

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Current members of the Tennessee State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Randy McNally

Minority Leader:Raumesh Akbari

Senators

District 1

J. Lowe (R)

District 2

Tom Hatcher (R)

District 3

Rusty Crowe (R)

District 4

Bobby Harshbarger (R)

District 5

Randy McNally (R)

District 6

Becky Massey (R)

District 7

Richard Briggs (R)

District 8

Jessie Seal (R)

District 9

Steve Southerland (R)

District 10

Todd Gardenhire (R)

District 11

Bo Watson (R)

District 12

Ken Yager (R)

District 13

Dawn White (R)

District 14

Shane Reeves (R)

District 15

Paul Bailey (R)

District 16

Janice Bowling (R)

District 17

Mark Pody (R)

District 18

Ferrell Haile (R)

District 19

Charlane Oliver (D)

District 20

Heidi Campbell (D)

District 21

Jeff Yarbro (D)

District 22

Bill Powers (R)

District 23

Kerry Roberts (R)

District 24

John Stevens (R)

District 25

Ed Jackson (R)

District 26

Page Walley (R)

District 27

Jack Johnson (R)

District 28

Joey Hensley (R)

District 29

Raumesh Akbari (D)

District 30

Sara Kyle (D)

District 31

Brent Taylor (R)

District 32

Paul Rose (R)

District 33

London Lamar (D)

Republican Party (27)

Democratic Party (6)