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Tennessee's 9th Congressional District election, 2020

From Ballotpedia



2022
2018
Tennessee's 9th Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: April 2, 2020
Primary: August 6, 2020
General: November 3, 2020

Pre-election incumbent:
Steve Cohen (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: Varies by county
Voting in Tennessee
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Tennessee's 9th Congressional District
U.S. Senate1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th
Tennessee elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

AllU.S. congressional districts, including the9th Congressional District of Tennessee, held elections in 2020.

IncumbentSteve Cohen won election in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 9.

Candidate filing deadlinePrimary electionGeneral election
April 2, 2020
August 6, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent wasDemocratSteve Cohen, who was first elected in 2006. The race was one of 56U.S. House rematches from 2018.

As of the2010 redistricting cycle, the9th District was located in the southwest region ofTennessee. It included a portion of Shelby County and included the city of Memphis.[1]

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled byDaily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Tennessee's 9th Congressional District, 2020
RacePresidentialU.S. House
Democratic candidateDemocratic Party78.577.4
Republican candidateRepublican Party19.920.1
Difference58.657.3

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also:Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of thecoronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Tennessee modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures and voter identification rules for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Individuals "with a special vulnerability to COVID-19" and "caretakers for individuals with a special vulnerability to COVID-19" were deemed to meet the existing statutory criteria for absentee voting eligibility. A law requiring first-time voters to vote in person was temporarily suspended.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak,click here.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

IncumbentSteve Cohen defeatedCharlotte Bergmann,Dennis Clark,Bobby Lyons, andCharles Shappley in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Cohen
Steve Cohen (D)
 
77.4
 
187,905
Image of Charlotte Bergmann
Charlotte Bergmann (R) Candidate Connection
 
20.1
 
48,818
Image of Dennis Clark
Dennis Clark (Independent) Candidate Connection
 
1.6
 
3,962
Image of Bobby Lyons
Bobby Lyons (Independent)
 
0.9
 
2,192
Charles Shappley (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
3

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 242,880
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

IncumbentSteve Cohen defeatedCorey Strong andLeo AwGoWhat in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on August 6, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Cohen
Steve Cohen
 
84.0
 
56,312
Image of Corey Strong
Corey Strong Candidate Connection
 
14.8
 
9,944
Leo AwGoWhat
 
1.1
 
768

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 67,024
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

Charlotte Bergmann advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on August 6, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Charlotte Bergmann
Charlotte Bergmann Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
12,160

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 12,160
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Pivot Counties

See also:Pivot Counties by state

One of 95 Tennessee counties—1 percent—is aPivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted forBarack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and forDonald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
CountyTrump margin of victory in 2016Obama margin of victory in 2012Obama margin of victory in 2008
Hardeman County, Tennessee7.92%5.91%6.18%

In the 2016 presidential election,Donald Trump (R) won Tennessee with 60.7 percent of the vote.Hillary Clinton (D) received 34.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Tennessee cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Tennessee supported Democratic candidates for president and Republican candidates equally. The state, however, favored Republicans in every presidential election between 2000 and 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Tennessee. Click[show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns show the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns show the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled byDaily Kos.[2][3]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 20 out of 99 state House districts in Tennessee with an average margin of victory of 50.7 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 22 out of 99 state House districts in Tennessee with an average margin of victory of 46.5 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 79 out of 99 state House districts in Tennessee with an average margin of victory of 36.8 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 77 out of 99 state House districts in Tennessee with an average margin of victory of 43.8 points. Trump won four districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.
2016 presidential results by state House district
DistrictObamaRomney2012 MarginClintonTrump2016 MarginParty Control
126.48%71.78%R+45.319.62%76.53%R+56.9R
225.47%72.94%R+47.522.34%73.09%R+50.8R
323.44%74.89%R+51.515.82%81.34%R+65.5R
424.92%73.37%R+48.517.60%79.09%R+61.5R
526.22%72.04%R+45.818.39%78.32%R+59.9R
627.88%70.48%R+42.624.82%70.87%R+46.1R
732.16%65.69%R+33.528.10%67.14%R+39R
825.60%72.64%R+4722.13%73.51%R+51.4R
925.47%72.83%R+47.416.67%80.51%R+63.8R
1026.13%72.49%R+46.419.78%76.98%R+57.2R
1124.31%73.99%R+49.716.57%80.41%R+63.8R
1221.96%76.64%R+54.718.10%78.27%R+60.2R
1346.29%51.08%R+4.846.53%46.55%R+0R
1427.16%71.40%R+44.231.73%62.39%R+30.7R
1564.97%32.36%D+32.663.19%30.19%D+33D
1626.02%72.27%R+46.325.79%69.20%R+43.4R
1723.13%75.42%R+52.317.26%79.08%R+61.8R
1837.12%60.80%R+23.740.01%52.84%R+12.8R
1924.61%73.61%R+4920.94%74.82%R+53.9R
2026.93%71.34%R+44.424.49%70.69%R+46.2R
2125.45%73.18%R+47.721.22%75.52%R+54.3R
2223.71%74.79%R+51.116.46%80.41%R+64R
2325.15%73.42%R+48.317.86%79.49%R+61.6R
2424.40%74.21%R+49.821.09%74.46%R+53.4R
2526.28%72.36%R+46.120.11%77.28%R+57.2R
2634.03%64.08%R+30.131.79%62.75%R+31R
2734.43%63.74%R+29.331.70%62.61%R+30.9R
2880.31%18.45%D+61.977.92%17.79%D+60.1D
2933.45%64.95%R+31.529.81%65.70%R+35.9R
3037.06%61.14%R+24.134.33%60.41%R+26.1R
3127.30%71.02%R+43.718.77%78.05%R+59.3R
3226.67%71.68%R+4521.60%74.28%R+52.7R
3335.25%62.79%R+27.531.54%63.16%R+31.6R
3433.18%65.32%R+32.131.29%63.52%R+32.2R
3523.70%74.95%R+51.315.89%81.43%R+65.5R
3626.89%71.70%R+44.818.57%78.26%R+59.7R
3738.33%59.99%R+21.736.08%58.84%R+22.8R
3824.89%73.79%R+48.916.00%81.84%R+65.8R
3933.22%65.17%R+3224.43%72.61%R+48.2R
4031.85%66.76%R+34.923.97%72.67%R+48.7R
4132.24%66.34%R+34.120.31%77.25%R+56.9D
4230.46%67.77%R+37.325.64%70.08%R+44.4R
4335.21%62.96%R+27.822.37%74.65%R+52.3R
4431.04%67.73%R+36.726.55%69.59%R+43R
4526.81%71.94%R+45.125.43%70.33%R+44.9R
4631.50%67.04%R+35.525.22%70.47%R+45.3R
4730.99%67.13%R+36.123.89%72.27%R+48.4R
4836.74%61.61%R+24.933.92%60.93%R+27R
4939.71%58.68%R+1937.26%57.65%R+20.4R
5041.70%56.68%R+1544.24%50.66%R+6.4D
5166.01%31.55%D+34.567.37%26.85%D+40.5D
5267.26%31.18%D+36.167.30%27.78%D+39.5D
5351.53%46.59%D+4.954.11%38.90%D+15.2D
5483.83%15.06%D+68.881.44%15.31%D+66.1D
5556.64%40.99%D+15.762.66%30.37%D+32.3D
5637.97%60.61%R+22.647.22%46.82%D+0.4R
5727.13%71.48%R+44.424.99%70.38%R+45.4R
5886.45%11.94%D+74.582.52%12.58%D+69.9D
5970.87%27.77%D+43.170.12%26.06%D+44.1D
6042.92%55.47%R+12.644.82%49.40%R+4.6D
6125.02%73.85%R+48.831.20%63.62%R+32.4R
6229.19%69.47%R+40.322.37%74.69%R+52.3R
6324.83%73.95%R+49.128.09%66.72%R+38.6R
6431.94%66.63%R+34.725.56%70.79%R+45.2R
6529.11%69.35%R+40.229.72%64.68%R+35R
6631.53%67.11%R+35.624.53%71.72%R+47.2R
6754.58%43.95%D+10.647.83%45.50%D+2.3D
6835.78%62.76%R+2731.26%63.72%R+32.5R
6940.73%57.62%R+16.929.72%66.98%R+37.3R
7031.22%67.54%R+36.322.18%75.41%R+53.2R
7124.67%73.66%R+4915.60%81.73%R+66.1R
7227.58%70.95%R+43.418.81%78.70%R+59.9R
7332.43%66.66%R+34.230.38%66.96%R+36.6R
7444.75%53.51%R+8.832.44%62.91%R+30.5R
7535.99%62.32%R+26.323.49%73.77%R+50.3R
7631.38%67.25%R+35.924.03%73.21%R+49.2R
7726.95%71.89%R+44.919.93%77.87%R+57.9R
7831.74%66.52%R+34.824.60%71.32%R+46.7R
7932.57%66.24%R+33.725.73%71.87%R+46.1R
8065.84%33.40%D+32.459.47%38.32%D+21.2D
8129.62%69.23%R+39.624.73%72.28%R+47.6R
8247.11%52.21%R+5.139.75%58.51%R+18.8D
8335.52%63.50%R+2842.62%53.17%R+10.6R
8488.19%11.41%D+76.887.27%10.83%D+76.4D
8586.69%12.90%D+73.886.70%11.57%D+75.1D
8676.09%23.16%D+52.972.98%24.31%D+48.7D
8786.77%12.68%D+74.186.66%11.18%D+75.5D
8876.07%23.17%D+52.975.43%21.94%D+53.5D
8929.02%69.00%R+4030.19%63.68%R+33.5R
9082.88%15.83%D+67.182.77%13.27%D+69.5D
9189.73%9.60%D+80.186.97%10.77%D+76.2D
9232.45%65.92%R+33.523.60%73.36%R+49.8R
9378.51%20.54%D+5876.41%20.35%D+56.1D
9431.77%67.08%R+35.326.34%71.15%R+44.8R
9523.35%75.79%R+52.428.51%67.82%R+39.3R
9643.76%55.37%R+11.650.57%45.95%D+4.6D
9737.56%61.31%R+23.841.60%54.17%R+12.6R
9881.57%17.71%D+63.980.24%17.34%D+62.9D
9928.53%70.51%R+4229.33%67.14%R+37.8R
Total39.08%59.48%R+20.434.91%61.06%R+26.2-
Source:Daily Kos

District analysis

See also:The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also:FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+28, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 28 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Tennessee's 9th Congressional District the 33rd most Democratic nationally.[4]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.06. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.06 points toward that party.[5]

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to theFederal Election Commission.

NamePartyReceipts*Disbursements**Cash on handDate
Steve CohenDemocratic Party$608,930$458,671$1,216,119 As of December 31, 2020
Charlotte BergmannRepublican Party$0$0$0Data not available***
Dennis ClarkIndependent$9,991$9,919$40 As of November 23, 2020
Bobby LyonsIndependent$0$0$0Data not available***
Charles ShappleyIndependent$0$0$0Data not available***

Source:Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

*According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
**According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


Race ratings

See also:Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets:The Cook Political Report,Inside Elections,Sabato's Crystal Ball, andDDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe andSolid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[6]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[7][8][9]

Race ratings: Tennessee's 9th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

Candidate ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for 9th Congressional District candidates in Tennessee in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Tennessee, clickhere.

Filing requirements, 2020
StateOfficePartySignatures requiredSignature formulaFiling feeFiling fee formulaFiling deadlineSource
Tennessee9th Congressional DistrictAll candidates25Fixed numberN/AN/A4/2/2020Source

District election history

2018

See also:Tennessee's 9th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

IncumbentSteve Cohen defeatedCharlotte Bergmann andLeo AwGoWhat in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Cohen
Steve Cohen (D)
 
80.0
 
145,139
Image of Charlotte Bergmann
Charlotte Bergmann (R)
 
19.2
 
34,901
Leo AwGoWhat (Independent)
 
0.8
 
1,436

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 181,476
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

IncumbentSteve Cohen defeatedKasandra Smith andIsaac Richmond in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on August 2, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steve Cohen
Steve Cohen
 
90.9
 
67,433
Image of Kasandra Smith
Kasandra Smith
 
6.4
 
4,734
Image of Isaac Richmond
Isaac Richmond
 
2.7
 
1,976

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 74,143
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9

Charlotte Bergmann advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 9 on August 2, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Charlotte Bergmann
Charlotte Bergmann
 
100.0
 
17,971

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 17,971
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2016

See also:Tennessee's 9th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpediarated this race as safely Democratic. IncumbentSteve Cohen (D) defeatedWayne Alberson (R) andPaul Cook (independent) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Cohen defeatedLarry Crim,Justin Ford, andM. LaTroy Williams in the Democratic primary on August 4, 2016.[10][11][12]

U.S. House, Tennessee District 9 General Election, 2016
PartyCandidateVote %Votes
    DemocraticGreen check mark transparent.pngSteve CohenIncumbent78.7%171,631
    Republican Wayne Alberson18.9%41,123
    Independent Paul Cook2.4%5,203
Total Votes217,957
Source:Tennessee Secretary of State


U.S. House, Tennessee District 9 Democratic Primary, 2016
CandidateVote %Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngSteve CohenIncumbent85.5%35,645
Justin Ford10%4,165
LaTroy Williams3.5%1,452
Larry Crim1%406
Total Votes41,668
Source:Tennessee Secretary of State

2014

See also:Tennessee's 9th Congressional District elections, 2014

IncumbentSteve Cohen won re-election to theU.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. He defeatedCharlotte Bergmann,Floyd Alberson,Paul Cook andHerbert Bass in the general election.

U.S. House, Tennessee District 9 General Election, 2014
PartyCandidateVote %Votes
    DemocraticGreen check mark transparent.pngSteve CohenIncumbent75%87,308
    Republican Charlotte Bergmann23.3%27,163
    Independent Floyd Alberson0.7%766
    Independent Paul Cook0.6%751
    Independent Herbert Bass0.4%483
Total Votes116,471
Source:Tennessee Secretary of State

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Tennessee Redistricting Map "Map" accessed July 30, 2012
  2. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  3. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  4. Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  5. FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  6. Inside Electionsalso usesTiltratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  7. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  8. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  9. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  10. Tennessee Secretary of State, "Candidate Petitions Filed as of April 7, 2016 Noon Qualifying Deadline," accessed April 8, 2016
  11. Politico, "Tennessee House Primaries Results," August 4, 2016
  12. CNN, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2016


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