CS Knowledge Base

The 2016 Tennessee State Senate election was held on November 8, 2016, to elect 16 of the 33 seats for the Tennessee's State Senate. The elections coincided with the Presidential, U.S. House, and State House elections. The primary elections were held on August 4, 2016.^[1]^[2]

Retirements

Republicans

District 4: Ron Ramsey, lieutenant governor of Tennessee.^[3]

Predictions


Source	Ranking	As of
Governing^[4]	Safe R	May 18, 2016

Results summary

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
Party		Candidates	No.	%	Before	Up	Won	After	+/–
	Republican	15	802,362	80.82	28	15	15	28
	Democratic	6	172,753	17.40	5	1	1	5
	Independent	1	17,640	1.78	0	0	0	0
	Write-in	1	1	0.00	0	0	0	0
Total			992,756	100	33	18	18	33
Source:

Popular vote

Republican			80.82%
Democratic			17.40%
Other			1.77%

Senate seats

Republican			84.85%
Democratic			15.15%

Closest race

Many of the senators running in this election ran unopposed. However, this race was the closest in the Senate election:

District	Winner	Margin
District 10	Republican	11.74%

District 2

Republican primary

Candidates

Doug Overbey, incumbent senator^[2]
Scott Williams, veteran and small business owner^[2]

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Doug Overbey (incumbent)	8,126	61.19%
	Republican	Scott Williams	5,155	38.81%
Total votes			13,281	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Doug Overbey (incumbent)	66,262	100.00%
Total votes			66,262	100.00%

District 4

Republican primary

Candidates

John Paul Blevins^[2]
Neal Kerney, veteran and small business owner^[5]
Jon Lundberg, state representative for the 1st district^[1]
Tony Shipley, state representative for the 2nd district^[2]

Declined

Ron Ramsey, incumbent senator and Speaker of the Senate (retiring)^[3]

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jon Lundberg	7,019	55.21%
	Republican	Tony Shipley	2,684	21.11%
	Republican	Neal Kerney	2,629	20.68%
	Republican	John Paul Blevins	381	3.00%
Total votes			12,713	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jon Lundberg	60,516	100.00%
Total votes			60,516	100.00%

District 6

Republican primary

Candidates

Becky Duncan Massey, incumbent senator^[2]

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Becky Duncan Massey (incumbent)	5,563	100.00%
Total votes			5,563	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Becky Duncan Massey (incumbent)	62,688	100.00%
Total votes			62,688	100.00%

District 8

Republican primary

Frank Niceley, incumbent senator^[2]

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank Niceley (incumbent)	11,114	100.00%
Total votes			11,114	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank Niceley (incumbent)	49,440	100.00%
Total votes			49,440	100.00%

District 10

Republican primary

Candidates

Todd Gardenhire, incumbent senator
Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %

Republican Todd Gardenhire (incumbent) 6,058 100.00%

Total votes 6,058 100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Ty O'Grady, entrepreneur and college professor^[6]
Khristy Wilkinson^[7]

Nick Wilkinson, director of the Chattanooga Office of Economic Development^[8]

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Khristy Wilkinson	2,662	43.58%
	Democratic	Nick Wilkinson	2,111	34.56%
	Democratic	Ty O'Grady	1,335	21.86%
Total votes			6,108	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Todd Gardenhire (incumbent)	39,308	55.87%
	Democratic	Khristy Wilkinson	31,043	44.13%
Total votes			70,351	100.00%

District 12

Republican primary

Candidates

Ken Yager, incumbent senator^[2]

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ken Yager (incumbent)	12,860	100.00%
Total votes			12,860	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ken Yager (incumbent)	55,219	100.00%
Total votes			55,219	100.00%

District 14

Republican primary

Candidates

Jim Tracy, incumbent senator^[2]
Matt Randolph, retail manager^[2]
Steve Lane, teacher^[9]^[2]

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Tracy (incumbent)	10,817	81.63%
	Republican	Steve Lane	1,681	12.68%
	Republican	Matt Randolph	754	5.69%
Total votes			13,252	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Gayle Jordan, attorney

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Gayle Jordan	2,767	100.00%
Total votes			2,767	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Tracy (incumbent)	53,082	74.41%
	Democratic	Gayle Jordan	18,259	25.59%
Total votes			71,341	100.00%

District 16

Republican primary

Candidates

Janice Bowling, incumbent senator^[2]
Michael Shane Wilcher, member of the Warren County Commission from the 3rd district^[10]

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Janice Bowling (incumbent)	10,235	81.74%
	Republican	Scott Williams	2,287	18.26%
Total votes			12,522	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Mike Winton, businessman^[11]^[2]
Alice Demetreon, retired corrections officer

Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mike Winton	3,342	70.27%
	Democratic	Alice Demetreon	1,414	29.73%
Total votes			4,756	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Janice Bowling (incumbent)	46,846	67.84%
	Democratic	Mike Winton	22,205	32.16%
Total votes			69,051	100.00%

District 18

Republican primary

Candidates

Ferrell Haile, incumbent senator^[2]

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ferrell Haile (incumbent)	10,326	100.00%
Total votes			10,326	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ferrell Haile (incumbent)	64,220	100.00%
Total votes			64,220	100.00%

District 20

The 20th senate district was based in Davidson County, and encompassed many of Nashville's wealthy inner suburbs, including Forest Hills, Belle Meade, and parts of Oak Hill and Goodlettsville. The district had been represented by Republican Steven Dickerson.

Incumbent Steven Dickerson won both the primary and the general election comfortably, receiving 59.9% of the vote in the primary and 56.3% in the general election.

In the concurrent 2016 presidential race, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton narrowly carried this district, winning by 0.2%.^[12]

Republican primary

Candidates

Steven Dickerson, incumbent senator^[2]
Ron McDow, Tennessee delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention^[13]

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steven Dickerson (incumbent)	5,222	59.94%
	Republican	Ron McDow	3,490	40.06%
Total votes			8,712	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Erin Coleman, attorney^[2]

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Erin Coleman	8,788	100.00%
Total votes			8,788	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Steven Dickerson (incumbent)	52,966	56.26%
	Democratic	Erin Coleman	41,172	43.74%
	Write-in	Joseph H. Johnston (write-in)	1	0.00%
Total votes			54,287	100.00%

District 22

The 22nd senate district was based in Clarksville, where it covered Montgomery County, as well as Stewart and Houston Counties. The district had been represented by Republican Mark Green.

Incumbent Mark Green won both the primary and the general election easily, receiving 84.2% of the vote in the primary and 67.0% in the general election.

In the concurrent 2016 presidential race, Republican nominee Donald Trump comfortably carried this district, which he received 58.1% of the vote. Mark Green ran well ahead of Trump across the district, easily outperforming him overall and posting especially strong margins in Montgomery County.^[12]

Republican primary

Candidates

Mark Green, incumbent senator^[14]
Lori L. Smith, small business owner, Clarksville fencing^[15]

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Green (incumbent)	6,183	84.17%
	Republican	Lori L. Smith	1,163	15.83%
Total votes			7,346	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

David L. Cutting, retired architectural engineer and small business owner^[16]

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	David L. Cutting	2,692	100.00%
Total votes			2,692	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Green (incumbent)	41,497	67.04%
	Democratic	David L. Cutting	20,406	32.96%
Total votes			61,903	100.00%

By county

County	Green	%	Cutting	%	Total
Houston	2,070	69.72%	899	30.28%	2,969
Montgomery	35,631	65.99%	18,362	34.01%	53,993
Stewart	3,796	76.83%	1,145	23.17%	4,941

District 24

Republican primary

Candidates

John Stevens, incumbent senator^[17]

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Stevens (incumbent)	9,474	100.00%
Total votes			9,474	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Stevens (incumbent)	46,945	100.00%
Total votes			46,945	100.00%

District 26

Republican primary

Candidates

Dolores Gresham, incumbent senator^[18]
Bob Shutt, mayor of Savannah, Tennessee^[19]

Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dolores Gresham (incumbent)	9,938	52.79%
	Republican	Bob Shutt	8,889	47.21%
Total votes			18,827	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dolores Gresham (incumbent)	54,210	100.00%
Total votes			54,210	100.00%

District 28

Republican primary

Candidates

Joey Hensley, incumbent senator^[20]

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joey Hensley (incumbent)	9,260	100%
Total votes			9,260	100%

Independent candidate

Joey Norman, firefighter^[21]

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Joey Hensley (incumbent)	51,251	74.59%
	Independent	Joey Norman	17,460	25.41%
Total votes			68,711	100.00%

District 30

Democratic primary

Candidates

Sara Kyle, incumbent senator^[22]
Beverly Marrero, former 30th district senator^[23]

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sara Kyle (incumbent)	7,607	75.42%
	Democratic	Beverly Marrero	2,479	24.58%
Total votes			10,086	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sara Kyle (incumbent)	39,668	100.00%
Total votes			39,668	100.00%

District 32

Republican primary

Candidates

Mark Norris, incumbent senator^[24]

Republican primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Norris (incumbent)	15,273	100.00%
Total votes			15,273	100.00%

General election

General election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Norris (incumbent)	57,912	100.00%
Total votes			57,912	100.00%

References

1 2 "2016 Primary election unofficial results". TSEA. August 5, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
1 2 Sisk, Chas; Farmer, Blake (March 16, 2016). "Ron Ramsey, Powerful Figure In Tennessee Politics For Two Decades, Ready To Just Be Granddad". WPLN News. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
↑ "Handicapping the 2016 State Legislative Races". Governing. May 18, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
↑ "Neal Kerney for Tennessee State Representative District 3 – Conservative leadership for serious times". April 11, 2021. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
↑ "OGrady2016 – OGrady for State Senate". August 3, 2016. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
↑ "About - Friends of Khristy Wilkinson". December 3, 2016. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
↑ "About - Nick Wilkinson for State Senate". September 7, 2016. Archived from the original on September 7, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
↑ "Steve Lane". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
↑ "Michael Shane Wilcher". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
↑ "About – Mike Winton for State House 47". November 2, 2018. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
1 2 "2016 Tennessee State Senate Elections Presidential Data". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
↑ "Ron McDow". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
↑ "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
↑ "Lori Smith: State Senate District 22 candidate". The Leaf-Chronicle. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
↑ "David Cutting: Candidate for State Senate District 22". The Leaf-Chronicle. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
↑ "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
↑ "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
↑ "Bob Shutt to challenge Gresham for senate seat". February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
↑ "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
↑ "Joey Norman is your State Senate Choice in the General Election in November". www.lawrenceburgnow.com. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
↑ "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
↑ Poe, Ryan. "Cash flows to Memphis incumbents in state Senate, House races". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
↑ "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.

[:0-1] 1 2 "2016 Primary election unofficial results". TSEA. August 5, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

[:1-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.

[:2-3] 1 2 Sisk, Chas; Farmer, Blake (March 16, 2016). "Ron Ramsey, Powerful Figure In Tennessee Politics For Two Decades, Ready To Just Be Granddad". WPLN News. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

[4] "Handicapping the 2016 State Legislative Races". Governing. May 18, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2024.

[5] "Neal Kerney for Tennessee State Representative District 3 – Conservative leadership for serious times". April 11, 2021. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

[6] "OGrady2016 – OGrady for State Senate". August 3, 2016. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

[7] "About - Friends of Khristy Wilkinson". December 3, 2016. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

[8] "About - Nick Wilkinson for State Senate". September 7, 2016. Archived from the original on September 7, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2024.

[9] "Steve Lane". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 20, 2024.

[10] "Michael Shane Wilcher". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 20, 2024.

[11] "About – Mike Winton for State House 47". November 2, 2018. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2024.

[:3-12] 1 2 "2016 Tennessee State Senate Elections Presidential Data". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved February 21, 2026.

[13] "Ron McDow". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 20, 2024.

[:12-14] "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.

[15] "Lori Smith: State Senate District 22 candidate". The Leaf-Chronicle. Retrieved February 6, 2024.

[16] "David Cutting: Candidate for State Senate District 22". The Leaf-Chronicle. Retrieved February 6, 2024.

[:13-17] "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.

[:14-18] "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.

[19] "Bob Shutt to challenge Gresham for senate seat". February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2024.

[:15-20] "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.

[21] "Joey Norman is your State Senate Choice in the General Election in November". www.lawrenceburgnow.com. Retrieved February 6, 2024.

[:16-22] "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.

[23] Poe, Ryan. "Cash flows to Memphis incumbents in state Senate, House races". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved February 6, 2024.

[:17-24] "Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 18, 2024.

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