Early voting totals provide a Republican advantage in a closely watched House race in Memphis

John Gillespie (left) and Jess Huseth (right) (Photos by Tennessee General Assembly and John Gillespie Campaign)

Early voting totals in Tennessee show a noticeable downtick in the state’s two largest counties. As of voting totals Monday, Davidson County is down more than 19 percent from 2020 and Shelby County is down more than 30 percent.

A closer analysis shows those lower early voting numbers in Shelby County could be hindering the challenger in one of the state’s closest-watched House races where Democrat Jesse Huseth is vying to unseat Rep. John Gillespie, R-Memphis, in House District 97. Huseth outraised Gillespie in the most recent campaign filing but the contributions have not led to a Democrat advantage in early voting, according to data showing the partisan primary voting history of those who have cast their ballots so far.

Of the more than 17 thousand early votes cast so far in the Shelby County district, 47 percent came from voters with a history of only or mostly voting in a GOP primary compared to 37 percent with a history of only or mostly voting in a Democratic party primary.

Huseth is a former Memphis-Shelby County Schools teacher who’s running on increasing funding for public schools and opposing Governor Lee's proposal to let families use tax dollars to send their kids to private school, sometimes referred to as vouchers. Gillespie is a member of the House Education Administration Committee and voted in favor of advancing voucher legislation last session. 

The reverse is true of lower early voting numbers in one of Davidson County’s closest-watched races where Democrat Shaundelle Brooks is facing Republican Chad Bobo in the vacant House District 60 election. Of the nearly 15 thousand early votes cast in the district, 44 percent come from voters with a history of only or mostly voting in the Democratic party primary compared to the nearly 32 percent with a history of only or mostly voting in the GOP primary.

House District 60 opened for challengers when Representative Darren Jernigan, D-Old Hickory, announced he was leaving the General Assembly to work as a state government liaison for Metro Nashville.

Early voting totals are more than 8 percent higher in Knox County and those totals provide a GOP advantage in the closely watched House District 18 race between Representative Elaine Davis, R-Knoxville, and her Democrat challenger Bryan Goldberg. Of the more than 17 thousand early votes cast, 51 percent came from voters with a history of only or mostly voting in the GOP primary compared to the 28 percent with a history of only or mostly voting in the Democratic party primary.

House District 18 is among a handful of Republican-held seats Democrats have targeted in hopes of whittling down the Republican supermajority in the House.

Early voting ends Thursday, October 31.