Hargett says it will be ‘surprise’ if full results available by end of Election Day

Secretary of State Tre Hargett says it will be a surprise if full results are available by the end of Election Day, according to reporter Hank Hayes of the Kingsport Times-News.
“We’re going to see a spike in absentee ballots. I don’t know how heavy that will be,” Hargett said. “I hope I’m pleasantly surprised like I was in August, when 95 counties had their election results done by midnight.”
The Secretary of State’s office has taken to the courts to try to fend off efforts to expand access to absentee voting during the pandemic.
Early voting starts on Oct. 14 and runs through Oct. 29. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 27. Mail-in ballots must be received via the Postal Service by Election Day in order to be counted.
Hayes pressed Hargett on his plans after the election.
“We’re trying to run an election 50 days from now,” Hargett said. “I am going to ask the legislature to re-elect me for another four-year term in January. I’ve got a lot of work to do. We still see a lot of areas where we think we can do better in. That’s what I’m focused on.”
A joint convention of the General Assembly will vote on the next four-year term for the Secretary of State in January. Hargett, a former state lawmaker, was first elected to the job in 2009. He got into some hot water in 2014 after a staffer reserved a website for a potential gubernatorial bid.
Hargett acknowledged to WTVF-TV at the time it might not have looked good, but said the site had been reserved to protect him from someone else grabbing it. He later announced he wouldn’t run for governor.
Winners and losers in Tennessee legislative races

Rep. Matthew Hill (R-Jonesborough) speaks to reporters in the House chamber in Nashville on April 17, 2019. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Republican Reps. Matthew Hill, Micah Van Huss, and Rick Tillis were ousted in Thursday’s primaries, as was Democratic Rep. Rick Staples.
Here is an update to our comprehensive guide to contested primaries for the state Tennessee General Assembly.
(Winners are in red. Incumbents are listed in italics. Open seats are in bold.)
District | Party | Name | City |
Senate 6 | D | Sam Brown | Knoxville |
D | Jane George | Knoxville | |
Senate 20 | D | Kimi Abernathy | Nashville |
D | Heidi Campbell | Nashville | |
Senate 22 | R | Doug Englen | Clarksville |
R | Bill Powers | Clarksville | |
Senate 24 | R | Casey L Hood | Obion |
R | John D. Stevens | Huntingdon | |
Senate 26 | R | Jai Templeton | Stantonville |
R | Page Walley | Bolivar | |
Senate 30 | D | Marion Latroy A-Williams Jr. | Memphis |
D | Sara P. Kyle | Memphis | |
Senate 32 | R | Paul W. Rose | Covington |
R | Scott Throckmorton | Collierville | |
House 3 | R | Scotty Campbell | Mountain City |
R | Neal Kerney | Mountain City | |
House 4 | R | Robert (Bob) Acuff | Elizabethton |
R | John B. Holsclaw Jr | Johnson City | |
R | Tim Lingerfelt | Erwin | |
House 6 | R | Tim Hicks | Gray |
R | Micah Van Huss | Gray | |
House 7 | R | Rebecca Keefauver Alexander | Jonesborough |
R | Matthew Hill | Jonesborough | |
House 15 | D | Sam McKenzie | Knoxville |
D | Matthew Park | Knoxville | |
D | Rick Staples | Knoxville | |
House 16 | R | Patti Lou Bounds | Knoxville |
R | Michele Carringer | Knoxville | |
House 18 | R | Eddie Mannis | Knoxville |
R | Gina Oster | Knoxville | |
House 20 | R | Bob Ramsey | Maryville |
R | Bryan Richey | Maryville | |
House 32 | R | Kent Calfee | Kingston |
R | Mike Hooks | Kingston | |
House 42 | R | Dennis C Bynum | Cookeville |
R | Ryan Williams | Cookeville | |
House 43 | R | Jerry Lowery | Sparta |
R | Bobby Robinson | Sparta | |
R | Paul Sherrell | Sparta | |
House 47 | R | Rush Bricken | Tullahoma |
R | Ronnie E. Holden | Tullahoma | |
House 52 | D | Mike Stewart | Nashville |
D | James C. Turner II | Antioch | |
House 54 | D | Terry Clayton | Nashville |
D | Vincent Dixie | Nashville | |
House 60 | D | Darren Jernigan | Old Hickory |
D | Grant Thomas Medeiros | Nashville | |
House 71 | R | David “Coach” Byrd | Waynesboro |
R | Austin Carroll | Hohenwald | |
R | Garry Welch | Savannah | |
House 72 | R | Kirk Haston | Lobelville |
R | Gordon Wildridge | Lexington | |
House 76 | R | Tandy Darby | Greenfield |
R | Dennis J. Doster | Dresden | |
R | David Hawks | Martin | |
R | John McMahan | Union City | |
R | Keith Priestley | McKenzie | |
House 78 | R | James Ebb Gupton Jr. | Ashland City |
R | Mary Littleton | Dickson | |
House 79 | R | Curtis Halford | Dyer |
R | Christine Warrington | Humboldt | |
House 84 | D | Dominique Primer | Memphis |
D | Joe Towns Jr. | Memphis | |
House 85 | D | Jesse Chism | Memphis |
D | Alvin Crook | Memphis | |
House 86 | D | Barbara Cooper | Memphis |
D | Austin A. Crowder | Memphis | |
D | Dominique Frost | Memphis | |
D | JoAnn Wooten-Lewis | Cordova | |
House 88 | D | Larry J. Miller | Memphis |
D | Orrden W. Williams Jr. | Memphis | |
House 90* | D | Torrey C. Harris | Memphis |
D | Anya Parker | Memphis | |
D | Catrina Smith | Memphis | |
House 92 | R | Vincent A. Cuevas | Lewisburg |
R | Rick Tillis | Lewisburg | |
R | Todd Warner | Cornersburg | |
House 97 | R | John Gillespie | Memphis |
R | Brandon S. Weise | Memphis | |
D | Allan Creasy | Memphis | |
D | Ruby Powell-Dennis | Cordova | |
D | Gabby Salinas | Memphis | |
D | Clifford Stockton III | Cordova | |
House 98 | D | Antonio Parkinson | Memphis |
D | Charles A. Thompson | Memphis | |
House 99 | R | Tom Leatherwood | Arlington |
R | Lee Mills | Arlington |
(*Longtime Rep. John DeBerry has said he plans to run as an independent in House 90 after being ousted from the primary ballot by the state Democratic Party)