Tennessee Senate2018
RACE AT A GLANCE
RACE TYPE
OPEN
Bob Corker (R)
Retiring
Key Dates
Filing Deadline: TBD
Primary Election: TBD
INCUMBENT
Sign in to view
First Elected: Sign in to view
Last General Election: Sign in to view
Last Primary Election: Sign in to view
INCUMBENT
Full Bio:
CORKER, Robert (Bob), a Senator from Tennessee; born in Orangeburg, S.C., August 24, 1952;
attended the public schools in Chattanooga, Tenn.; graduated with a bachelor of
science degree in industrial management, University of Tennessee 1974;
commercial real estate developer; construction company owner; unsuccessful
candidate for the United States Senate 1994; commissioner, Tennessee Finance
and Administration Department 1995-1996; mayor of Chattanooga 2001-2005;
elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 2006 for the term
commencing January 3, 2007; reelected in 2012 for the term ending January 3,
2019; chair, Committee on Foreign Relations (One Hundred Fourteenth and One Hundred Fifteenth
Congresses).
Source: Bioguide
CANDIDATES
Democrats
Sign in to view
Republicans
Sign in to view
Independents / Other Parties
Sign in to view
Sign in to view
Sign in to view
Sign in to view
Sign in to view
Sign in to view
STATE DATA
Tennessee
Population Breakdown
Source: American Community Survey
Past Presidential Results from this State
2016 Election Results
Source: The Cook Political Report/POLIDATA
2012 Election Results
Source: The Cook Political Report/POLIDATA
RACE ANALYSIS
The Bottom Line
Updated: Aug 3, 2018
This Republican-held open seat is far more competitive than the heavily GOP tilt of this state would suggest it should be. The Republican nominee is U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who easily won the primary 85 percent of the vote. She has represented the 7th congressional district based in the western suburbs of Nashville and Clarksville since 2002. She is a staunch conservative who has embraced President Trump and his policies. Democrats got the strongest possible candidate they could have hoped for in former Gov. Phil Bredesen, who easily won his party’s nomination with 92 percent of the vote. Bredesen spent eight years as the Mayor of Nashville followed by two terms as Governor where he earned a reputation for governing from the center. There were four polls released in June and July; Blackburn was ahead in two and Bredesen led in the other two. The takeaway is that this remains a very close race in a very unlikely state. The contest is in the Toss Up column.
Race Analysis
Updated: Jul 1, 2026
RELATED CHARTS
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.