(The Center Square) – Former president Donald Trump took Tennessee early on Tuesday night, jumping ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris.
By 9:30 p.m., Trump had twice the number of votes for Harris.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn had the same margin over Democratic state Rep. Gloria Jones.
“Tonight this victory belongs to the people of Tennessee,” Blackburn said in a social media post. “We’re just getting started! Now let’s watch for a President Donald Trump win!”
Six of Tennessee’s U.S. representatives were projected winners as of 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. Diana Harshbarger, Tim Burchett, Chuck Fleischmann, Scott DesJarlais, John Rose and David Kustoff are all Republicans.
Two other Republicans, Andy Ogles and Mark Green, had significant leads in their races, according to the Tennessee secretary of state’s office.
Results had not come in yet for the race involving U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, the state’s only Democratic congressman and Republican challenger Charlotte Bergmann. Cohen represents Shelby and Tipton counties.
The win for the Republicans was not a surprise as polls showed that Trump and Blackburn had substantial leads.
More than 2.2 million Tennesseans cast their ballot early, which is 45.88% of registered voters, according to the secretary of state’s website.
The turnout was nearly 3% less than in 2020 when a majority of Tennessee voters cast their early ballots by absentee due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The early voting totals were 32.2% higher than 2016, according to the website.
