11 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
11 candidates · ballot order · Bill Hagerty currently holds this seat
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Economic growth and business investment in Tennessee.
Border security.
Support for military families.
Trade policy benefiting Tennessee agriculture and manufacturing, including the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Alignment with President Trump, under whom he served as ambassador.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
U.S. Senator from Tennessee since January 2021.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan, 2017–2019; previously Tennessee commissioner of economic and community development.
Primary sponsor of 8 bills that were enacted into law.
Supported the Paycheck Protection Program for Tennessee small businesses during the pandemic, and worked on implementing the USMCA.
Missed 143 of 2,519 roll call votes from January 2021 to August 2026 — a 5.7% rate, more than double the 2.8% median for sitting senators.
Unopposed in the August 6 2026 Republican primary, with 629,194 votes.
Endorsed by President Trump, Gov. Bill Lee and Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
Raised $15.9 million through June 30 2026.
Arguments in favor
He has delivered for Tennessee business — the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses during the pandemic, and implementation of the USMCA for the state's agriculture and manufacturing sectors.
— Sen. Bill Hagerty's Senate office
He has been primary sponsor of eight bills enacted into law, a substantive legislative output for a first-term senator.
— GovTrack.us legislative records
He is backed by President Trump, Gov. Bill Lee and the state's senior senator, and was unopposed for renomination.
— President Donald Trump, Gov. Bill Lee and Sen. Marsha Blackburn
Arguments against
He missed 143 of 2,519 roll call votes — 5.7%, more than double the median for sitting senators.
— GovTrack.us voting records
The Senate lacks a working-class perspective, and he represents the private equity and ambassadorial background rather than the Tennesseans she is running to speak for.
— Marquita Bradshaw, his Democratic opponent
He has not acted on environmental contamination affecting Tennessee communities, such as the Memphis Defense Depot Superfund site, or on climate.
— Marquita Bradshaw's campaign, which centres environmental justice
What we couldn’t verify
His explanation for the missed-vote record.
His position on tariffs, which sit awkwardly against his USMCA and trade record.
Environmental justice, the organising principle of her career and campaign.
An immediate increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The Green New Deal, which she argues would create jobs and infrastructure benefiting Tennessee's economy.
Economic justice and representation for working-class people, whose perspective she says the Senate lacks.
Health care access.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Democratic nominee for this Senate seat in 2020, losing to Bill Hagerty.
Career environmental justice organiser, working with the Sierra Club and with labour groups including the AFL-CIO.
Campaigned on contamination from the Memphis Defense Depot Superfund site.
Staffing consultant.
Won the August 6 2026 Democratic primary with 54.8% in a five-candidate field.
Has used AI-generated images in her campaign materials.
Has not held elected office.
Arguments in favor
She has spent her career in the environmental justice movement, organising around real contamination in Memphis rather than campaigning on abstractions.
— Marquita Bradshaw for Senate campaign, and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
She is running to put a working-class perspective in the Senate, backing a $15 minimum wage and a Green New Deal she argues would create jobs and infrastructure in Tennessee.
— Marquita Bradshaw for Senate campaign
She won an outright majority in a five-candidate primary, including against a former state party director.
— Nashville Banner reporting on the primary result
Arguments against
Her campaign has used AI-generated images, drawing criticism even from her own supporters over the effect of AI on working artists.
— Criticism from her own followers, as reported in coverage of her campaign
She has never held elected office and lost this same race to this same opponent in 2020, and is being vastly outspent by an incumbent who has raised nearly $16 million.
— Ballotpedia records of the 2020 result and 2026 campaign finance filings
What we couldn’t verify
No attack material from the Hagerty campaign or from national Republicans could be located, so arguments against her come from reporting and the public record rather than from an opposing campaign, and there are fewer of them than for her opponent. This is worth revisiting closer to the election.
Her 2020 vote share, which no source located stated precisely.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Roster established from Ballotpedia, the Nashville Banner, WATE and the Tennessee Lookout, cross-checked. Republican incumbent Bill Hagerty was unopposed in the August 6 2026 primary. Marquita Bradshaw won the Democratic primary with 54.8%, about 186,155 votes, over Maria Brewer (18.0%), Kevin Lee McCants (10.1%), Civil Miller-Watkins (8.7%) and Diana Onyejiaka (8.5%); this is a rematch of the 2020 general election, which Hagerty won. One source reported Bradshaw's share as 40.36% on an earlier count; 54.8% is the figure from the more complete count and is used here.
Nine candidates filed as independents or minor-party nominees and are included below, because a voter looking at this ballot will see all of their names. Almost nothing could be established about any of them beyond what the candidate filings record, so each carries low confidence and no arguments in either column. They are: Tharon Chandler, Andrew Gerena, Jeremy Hearn, Robert Jones, James Macon III, Yoshi Matthews, David Sutman Jr., Catherine Whitson, and Andrew Woodruff Mixon of the Federalist Party. Their ballot qualification was not confirmed against the Tennessee Secretary of State and should be before publication.
All major forecasters rate this race Safe or Solid Republican; Democrats have not won a Tennessee Senate election since 1990.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Tennessee ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Tennessee Secretary of State.