2020 United States Senate election in Tennessee

The 2020 United States Senate election in Tennessee was held on November 3, 2020, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate. The 2020 U.S. presidential election and elections to the U.S. House of Representatives were also held, as well as the State Senate and State House elections. Incumbent Republican Senator Lamar Alexander announced that he would not run for re-election on December 17, 2018. The former United States Ambassador to Japan, Bill Hagerty won the open seat by a large margin defeating his Democratic opponent Marquita Bradshaw.

In the primary, President Donald Trump endorsed Hagerty. He ended up winning the Republican nomination, defeating orthopedic surgeon Manny Sethi and 13 others in the Republican primary. In the Democratic primary, environmental activist Marquita Bradshaw from Memphis defeated Robin Kimbrough Hayes, as well as 3 other candidates. Nine independent candidates also appeared on the general election ballot.

Bill Hagerty outperformed Donald Trump by almost 4% during the general election. This was because he did better in suburban, exurban, and urban areas across Tennessee.

Nominee

 * Bill Hagerty, businessman, former United States Ambassador to Japan and former Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

Eliminated in the primary

 * Cliff Adkins
 * Natisha Brooks
 * Byron Bush, dentist
 * Roy Dale Cope, small business owner and pharmacist
 * Terry Dicus, attorney
 * Tom Emerson, Jr., Tea Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014
 * George Flinn, Jr., former Shelby County commissioner, Nixon Administration Official, physician, engineer, businessman, and Republican candidate in Tennessee's 8th congressional district in 2016 and 2018
 * Jon Henry, U.S. Marine Corps veteran
 * Kent Morrell, business owner
 * Glen Neal, Jr., retired public servant
 * John Osborne, real estate agent and business owner
 * Aaron Pettigrew, truck driver
 * David Schuster, U.S. Navy veteran
 * Manny Sethi, orthopedic surgeon, director of the Vanderbilt Orthopedic Institute Center for Health Policy and founder and president of the non-profit Healthy Tennessee

Disqualified from the primary ballot

 * Jim Elkins, Republican candidate for Tennessee's 3rd congressional district in 2020
 * Johnny Presley, retired physician's assistant, hospital and clinic owner, farmer

Withdrawn

 * Clyde Benson, army veteran and Republican candidate for District 39 of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2016
 * Larry Crim
 * Josh Gapp, physician (unsuccessfully ran for TN-01)
 * Garrett "Lance" Nichols
 * Stokes Nielson, music industry executive and guitarist for the Lost Trailers

Declined

 * Lamar Alexander, incumbent U.S. senator
 * Mae Beavers, former state senator (endorsed Sethi)
 * Diane Black, former U.S. representative for Tennessee's 6th congressional district and candidate for governor in 2018
 * Randy Boyd, former Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, candidate for governor in 2018, and President of the University of Tennessee system
 * Bob Corker, former U.S. senator
 * Stephen Fincher, former U.S. representative for Tennessee's 8th congressional district and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018
 * Chuck Fleischmann, U.S. representative for Tennessee's 3rd congressional district
 * Mark E. Green, U.S. representative for Tennessee's 7th congressional district and former state senator
 * Tre Hargett, Tennessee Secretary of State
 * Beth Harwell, former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and candidate for governor in 2018
 * Bill Haslam, former governor of Tennessee
 * David Kustoff, U.S. representative for Tennessee's 8th congressional district and former U.S. Attorney
 * Peyton Manning, retired NFL quarterback
 * Jeff Webb, businessman (endorsed Sethi)

Results
[[File:Tennessee U.S. Senate Republican primary, 2020.svg|thumb|300px|Results by county: {{legend|#E27F7F|Hagerty}}

{{legend|#FFB2B2|40–50%}}

{{legend|#E27F7F|50–60%}}

{{legend|#D75D5D|60–70%}}

{{legend|#D72F30|70–80%}} {{legend|#FF9A50|Sethi}}

{{legend|#FFB580|40–50%}}

{{legend|#FF9A50|50–60%}} ]]

Nominee

 * Marquita Bradshaw, environmentalist

Eliminated in the primary

 * Gary G. Davis, small business owner, baker, pilot, and perennial candidate
 * Robin Kimbrough Hayes, attorney and Christian minister
 * James Mackler, attorney, U.S. Army veteran and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2018
 * Mark Pickrell, entrepreneur, attorney and Baptist deacon

Disqualified from the primary ballot

 * Tharon Chandler, journalist, economist, and conservationist

Withdrawn

 * Diana C. Onyejiaka, college professor and consultant

Declined

 * Andy Berke, incumbent mayor of Chattanooga and former state senator
 * Phil Bredesen, former mayor of Nashville and Governor of Tennessee and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018 (endorsed James Mackler)
 * John Ray Clemmons, state representative and candidate for Mayor of Nashville in 2019
 * Karl Dean, former mayor of Nashville and nominee for Governor of Tennessee in 2018
 * Sara Kyle, incumbent state senator
 * Tim McGraw, singer-songwriter
 * Jason Powell, state representative, real estate agent, non-profit manager
 * Madeline Rogero, former mayor of Knoxville
 * Renata Soto, executive director of Conexión Américas
 * Jeff Yarbro, minority leader of the Tennessee State Senate

Results
[[File:Tennessee U.S. Senate Democratic primary, 2020.svg|thumb|300px|Results by county: {{legend|#6674de|Bradshaw}}

{{legend|#dfeeff|20–30%}}

{{legend|#bdd3ff|30–40%}}

{{legend|#a5b0ff|40–50%}}

{{legend|#7996e2|50–60%}} {{legend|#37c837|Hayes}}

{{legend|#c0f0c0|20–30%}}

{{legend|#aae5aa|30–40%}} {{legend|#d75d5d|Mackler}}

{{legend|#ffe0ea|20–30%}}

{{legend|#ffc8cd|30–40%}}

{{legend|#ffb2b2|40–50%}} {{legend|#ee8e50|Davis}}

{{legend|#ffdac1|20–30%}}

{{legend|#ffcca9|30–40%}} Mackler/Davis tie

{{legend|#EFE7F5|20–30%}} ]]

Declared

 * Yomi Faparusi, physician, attorney, researcher, and former Republican candidate for Tennessee's 4th congressional district in 2014 and 2016
 * Jeffrey Grunau, activist
 * Ronnie Henley,
 * Dean Hill, US veteran, former federal employee, and activist
 * Steven Hooper
 * Aaron James
 * Elizabeth McLeod, conservative activist
 * Eric William Stansberry

Withdrawn

 * Tom Kovach, attorney
 * Kacey Morgan, freelancer and operations director (endorsed Marquita Bradshaw) (remained on ballot)

Polling

 * with Bill Hagerty and James Mackler
 * with Manny Sethi and James Mackler


 * with Generic Republican and Generic Democrat

By county

 * Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
 * Haywood (largest city: Brownsville)
 * Shelby (largest city: Memphis)