Bobby Harshbarger and Jessie Seal win State Senate races, Tennessee Senate party makeup remains unchanged

New State Senators Jessie Seal (left) and Bobby Harshbarger (right) (Photos by each candidate’s campaign)

Republicans will retain their same majority control in the State Senate following this week’s Election Day results.  

None of the 16 even numbered seats up for vote Tuesday had a result that was closer than 16,000 votes, leaving Republicans in control of 27 Senate Seats and Democrats holding six.

The new Senate that returns to Nashville next year will have two new members though, following the defeat of incumbents in last August’s GOP primary.

Republican candidate Bobby Harshbarger, the son of U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tennessee, defeated Education Committee Chair and Senator John Lundburg, R-Bristol, in the Tennessee Senate District 4 race, and followed with a general election win over independent opponent Dalia Price. Harshbarger secured more than 72,000 votes, while Price managed 22,045.

The Senate District 4 primary was contentious, with allegations that Harshbarger broke campaign laws to attack Lundberg. While leading the Senate Education Committee, Lundberg developed a reputation for supporting foundational education policies, including high academic standards and accountability that studies show have led to student improvement in Tennessee.

In Tennessee Senate District 8, Republican candidate Jessie Seal of Claiborne County decisively defeated his Democratic opponent R.E. Ellison, with 74,557 votes versus Ellison’s 14,672. Those results follow Seal’s August primary victory against three-term State Sen. Frank Niceley.

According to a report from the Tennessean,  Seal’s primary victory was boosted by $563,000 in independent ad buys from from the pro-voucher PAC School Freedom Fund.

To view the full Election Day results in Tennessee visit elections.tn.gov.