For the first time in history, Tennessee will have a Republican supermajority in the State House and State Senate. Returns are showing that Republicans have built on their current 20-13 majority in the State Senate and 64-34-1 majority in the State House.  Republicans have gained 6 seats in the State Senate and 7 in the State House.

In congress, Senator Bob Corker also cruised to re-election.

U.S. Representative Scott DesJarlais (R) also won a second term on Tuesday, even though he was said to be involved in a scandal involving a mistress and the suggestion of her to have an abortion, despite his stance against abortion. 

DesJarlais beat State Senator Eric Stewart, the Democratic nominee in the 4th District. 

Eric Stewart, candidate in Tennessee’s Fourth Congressional District, issued the following statement:

“The voters have spoken. I'm proud of the campaign we ran. We talked about fighting for working families, keeping promises we made to our seniors about Medicare and Social Security, and giving our men and women in uniform the support they need and deserve. The fight for those things hasn't ended, even though my campaign for Congress has. Congress needs to stop fighting and start fixing. Working families depend on it.”

In congress, DesJarlais won the vote with a 52% margin and Stewart lost with 47% of the vote in Rutherford County. There were 117 write-ins for other candidates. Corker won the local race with 65% of the votes on Tuesday night. 

“Tennessee voters affirmed tonight that our state is heading in the right direction,” said Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chris Devaney. “Republicans are once again honored that voters have put their trust in our party to lead our state to a better future.

“Tonight’s victories can be credited to good candidates, a solid message, and an aggressive ground game,” continued Devaney. “I want to thank our Republican Senators and Congressmen as well as the Republican leadership of the State House and Senate Caucuses. These leaders went above and beyond to help elect our candidates and their hard work was critical in our success this year. I also want to thank the thousands of donors, volunteers, and Party leadership members who gave us their support. Clearly we wouldn’t be where we are without the critical resources they provided us over the course of this election cycle.

“Lastly, I want to thank all of the Republican candidates who ran this year. Running for office is an extremely difficult task and regardless of the outcome, each one of these candidates should be commended for their dedication and sacrifice over the last months.”