Tennessee Lookout
Green and Pinkston speak after gubernatorial forum. Here are the biggest takeaways
Three out of four gubernatorial candidates in Tennessee participated Tuesday night in a forum held at Middle Tennessee State University a week before voters el…
Gov. Lee extends off-road diesel enforcement relief for farmers, loggers through Dec. 31
Tennessee farmers and loggers will be allowed to use tax-exempt diesel — usually limited to off-road vehicles — on public roads through the end of the year, Go…
Commentary: John Cole’s Tennessee: Exit polls say. . . ?
John Cole's political cartoons on Tennessee topics appear in the Tennessee Lookout weekly. He is currently the staff cartoonist for the editorial pages of The …
In Tennessee, church mobilization efforts send message that voting rights attack is unacceptable
A crowd of no more than 20 at Souls to the Polls in Bordeaux, a traditionally Black North Nashville community, prayed with Rev. Paula Smith, who invoked the me…
Tennessee toll lane contractor promises to pay state nearly $148 billion
The road construction group building Tennessee’s toll lanes along the I-24 southeast corridor is upping the ante, promising to pay the state nearly $148 billio…
Tennessee hosts first gubernatorial forum in eight years. GOP frontrunner no-shows
Three of the four major Tennessee gubernatorial candidates appeared at a forum one week before the 2026 election and answered questions on a range of topics, i…
Tennessee blocks driver’s licenses for Dreamers, other immigrants with U.S. work permits
Tennessee is rejecting applications for driver’s licenses from immigrants who are authorized by the federal government to work and live in the United States, a…
U.S. Rep. Fleischmann says Hegseth could take Blackburn’s Senate seat if vacated
There’s a race going on in Tennessee that’s not on the ballot. If U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn wins her bid for governor, her vacated seat is up for grabs and op…
Tennessee subterranean authority member won’t take first Boring Company tunnel ride
A member of the Tennessee board overseeing construction of a Nashville tunnel isn’t worried yet about the potential for sinkholes detailed in a new study, but …
Outgoing Tennessee lottery head optimistic that revenue for college scholarships won’t keep dropping
Tennessee’s outgoing chief executive of the lottery education corporation told state officials she was optimistic revenue designated for college scholarships w…
The Democrat daring to defy the odds and flip Tennessee’s 3rd District blue
Anna Golladay, the Democratic candidate for Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District, is no stranger to politics. She first ran for elected office in 2025 for a …
In Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District, Democrat Barnett tries to flip a long-held GOP seat
Michaela Barnett, a Knoxville small business owner and scientist, is attempting to overturn more than a century of Republican domination in Tennessee’s 2nd Con…
Tennessee officials urge caution amid reports of ballot problems
A Tennessee Democratic lawmaker is calling for election officials to resolve complaints that voting machines are defaulting to candidates they didn’t want to s…
Midterm early voter turnout tops 2022 stats by 57% in first 8 days, but lags behind 2018
Eight days into early voting, turnout was more than 57% higher for Tennessee’s Nov. 3 midterm election than it was in 2022, according to state data. More than …
Commentary: What the town kept and what it couldn’t lend
I was raised in Erin, Tennessee, by people who would drive forty minutes with a casserole to a family they had never liked, and I want that said before anythin…