Democrats flip six TN state House seats, as Mufreesboro area delivers blue wave

Tennessee Democrats flipped six state House seats during Tuesday’s election and nearly wiped out the existing Rutherford County delegation as three of five Republicans lost their races.

Democrats still remain in the superminority in Tennessee’s state House, but the victory marked the first time the party has gained multiple seats in an election since 1996. Republicans will now hold 68 seats in the state House, down from 74; Democrats will have 31

Three rematches from 2024 — in Clarksville, Knoxville and Memphis — were top priorities this election cycle and all three Democratic candidates performed to plan, knocking out GOP incumbents.

Bryan Goldberg defeated state Rep. Elaine Davis in Knoxville, Jesse Huseth defeated state Rep. John Gillepsie in Memphis and Allie Phillips defeated state Rep. Michael Lankford in Clarksville.

In Rutherford County’s mini-blue wave, Democrats flipped a trio of seats. Connie Casha defeated state Rep. Mike Sparks in Smyrna, Brett Windrow defeated state Rep. Robert Stevens in Smyrna and Owen Farnsworth defeated state Rep. Tim Rudd in Murfreesboro.

State Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Nashville Democrat, said the election was a “Murfreesboro miracle.”

“It’s a testament to the Republican supermajority agenda of cultural wars over affordability,” said Behn. “They’ve neglected Rutherford for so long.”

Republican support in Rutherford County cratered by nearly 19% from the 2024 Presidential election. President Donald Trump won the county in 2024 with 60% of the vote. On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn received 41% of the county’s vote in the gubernatorial election.

Huseth and Phillips races drew the most attention from the party

Huseth and Gillepsie faced off in a district in the Memphis suburbs that was the only state House district held by a Republican that Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris won during the 2024 Presidential election, and which Huseth narrowly lost in the last election.

The Tennessee House Democratic Caucus poured $27,000 into Huseth’s campaign. Huseth said he focused more on the state budget this year, campaigning on issues like eliminating the state grocery tax and making Pre-K more accessible. 

Gillespie, an outspoken supporter of the Memphis Safe Task Force, ran on a platform of public safety and crime reduction. During his legislative tenure, Gillespie sponsored several crime-focused laws, including several that increased sentences for certain violent convictions and a controversial “truth in sentencing” law requiring certain convicted felons to serve their entire sentence without parole eligibility. 

He also worked with Republican  Sen. Brent Taylor of Shelby County to sponsor a bill that overturned a Memphis ordinance barring police from making “pretextual” traffic stops, or stops for minor violations that act as a “pretext” for further investigation. The Memphis City Council passed the ordinance after the beating and death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of Memphis police, who pulled Nichols over for reckless driving in January 2023.

Phillips also ran in 2024 against state Rep. Jeff Burkhart. Lankford was appointed to fill the vacancy created when Burkhart died in November  2025. Phillips made a national name for herself after she was forced to leave the state to terminate a nonviable pregnancy because of Tennessee’s strict abortion ban.

The Democratic victory in Clarksville continues the party’s strong showing in Montgomery County, which won the majority of the county’s commission seats in the August election for the first time since the body began holding partisan elections. 

In the state Senate, each party held its current slate of seats. Republicans hold a 27-6 advantage in the state’s upper legislative chamber.

State. Sen. Brent Taylor won both his U.S. House and state Senate races, so a special election will be needed to replace him. Republican Jimmy Matlock won the seat to replace outgoing Senate Speaker and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally. Matlock previously served in the state House from 2006 to 2018. 

The Tennessee Senate Republican caucus will hold a vote on Nov. 10 to pick its replacement for McNally, ahead of the legislative session. Whoever is chosen will also be second in line of succession for governor.

Cassandra Stephenson contributed to this report.