Redistricting played a part in Tennessee's primary election results

Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Redistricting played a part in Tennessee's primary election results Tennessee's primary election put its redistricting from earlier this year on display at the ballot box as results questioned President Trump's endorsement. Elections Redistricting played a part in Tennessee's primary election results August 7, 20264:24 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered By Marianna Bacallao , Mary Louise Kelly Redistricting played a part in Tennessee's primary election results Listen &middot; 4:24 4:24 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5924830/nx-s1-9880164" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Tennessee's primary election put its redistricting from earlier this year on display at the ballot box as results questioned President Trump's endorsement. Sponsor Message Transcript MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Primary results in Tennessee last night continue to give information about what we might expect from November's midterms. One of President Trump's picks lost his primary, and the stage is now set for the state's first woman governor, one way or another. Joining me now, Marianna Bacallao from member station WPLN in Nashville. Marianna, welcome. MARIANNA BACALLAO, BYLINE: Thank you. KELLY: So let's start with Trump's primary pick. This is Congressman Andy Ogles endorsed by Trump. But defeated by another conservative Republican - what happened? BACALLAO: Right. Ogles was one of the first politicians to get an endorsement from Trump last year. Recently, Ogles drew some attention when he called for a ban on immigrants from Muslim countries, saying they don't belong in American society. That comment was condemned by many, especially Muslim groups who saw it as part of a dangerous rise in Islamophobia. He lost to Charlie Hatcher, a former Tennessee agriculture commissioner. As a dairy farmer, Hatcher positioned himself as the down to earth alternative to Ogles, saying that he's more action than talk. For Democrats now, their pick - Columbia, Tennessee, Mayor Chaz Molder - could have a harder race ahead of him facing a candidate who doesn't have the same controversies as Ogles. KELLY: How did President Trump respond to his candidate losing? BACALLAO: He talked about the results on Truth Social. He's now downplaying his support of Ogles after the primary results, saying that Ogles didn't actually have a chance of winning, but that he had to be loyal to him. Trump focused on the eight other races where he says his candidates did win their primaries. KELLY: Meanwhile, Senator Marsha Blackburn won the Republican nomination for governor, which is going to set her up to make some history, right? BACALLAO: Exactly. She's represented Tennessee and Washington for more than 20 years and was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from the state. Her campaign focused on opposing abortion and immigration. Here she is last night. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) MARSHA BLACKBURN: Pro-life, pro-family policies, safe communities, educational freedom... (CHEERING) BLACKBURN: ...A strong economy creates opportunity for every single family. And as your governor, I will not allow Tennessee to become New York or California. BACALLAO: I'll say, her Democratic opponent is also a woman, so either way, the state can expect to have its first female governor ever. Blackburn will face Democrat Jerri Green, who's a lawyer on the Memphis City Council. She focused on affordability and equity issues. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) JERRI GREEN: Tennesseans want the same basic things. They want a Tennessee where you work hard and you actually get ahead. They want to raise their families in safe communities. BACALLAO: It's unclear if we'll see them face to face. Blackburn didn't participate in debates in her primary and often has refused to debate Democratic rivals. KELLY: The other race we are watching there is House seat - one of the House seats that was redrawn as part of President Trump's call on Republicans to redistrict before the midterms. It had been held by Democrat Steve Cohen. He decided not to run for reelection. But another Democrat stayed in the race. Who is that? BACALLAO: It's state representative Justin J. Pearson, who gained national attention as one of the Tennessee Three. These were three lawmakers who faced expulsion from the legislature a few years ago for protesting on the state House floor for gun control. Pearson was briefly expelled. He's from Memphis, where he's protested the xAI Data Center and championed other environmental issues in the city. He's a continuation of a trend we're seeing of progressive candidates winning in Democratic primaries. Now, Pearson will face another state lawmaker, Republican Tennessee Senator Brent Taylor in the general election. Taylor is endorsed by Trump, and he's well-positioned to flip the district red. But there's been a shift in Democratic thinking about the race. National Democrats this week labeled the race as competitive and will be investing in Pearson to keep the district blue. KELLY: That is Marianna Bacallao of WPLN in Tennessee, reporting for us. Thanks very much. BACALLAO: Thank you. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{310:function(e,n,o){o.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([o.e(1),o.e(2),o.e(3),o.e(4),o.e(80)]).then((e=>{o(15),o(769),o(155),o(176),o(93),o(447),o(254),o(128),o(130),o(754),o(175),o(755),o(255),o(78),o(773)}).bind(null,o)).catch(o.oe)},782:function(e,n,o){e.exports=o(310)}},[[782,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();