Democrat Leads GOP Incumbent in Tennessee Congressional District by 280 Votes

PIKEVILLE, Tenn.—Republican state lawmakers redrew Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District this year, stretching it from rural Alabama border counties and small towns like Pikeville westward into eastern Nashville, the state capital.

Now a Democrat has claimed victory in the new district, and only 280 votes separate her from Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), who has held the seat since 2011.

DesJarlais has remained quiet as Victoria Broderick and the Tennessee Democratic Party declared victory. The results have not been certified, and The Associated Press has not called the race. The AP did not respond by publication to a request for comment on the status of its call.

Broderick said in her victory speech that she expects the outcome to be challenged.

“We already know that they’re going to try and contest the race,” Broderick said in her speech, without specifying who she expected to bring a challenge.

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Neither campaign had filed an election contest or asked for a recount as of Thursday, the secretary of state’s office told The Epoch Times in a phone call on Thursday.

Tennessee does not provide an automatic recount based only on a close margin, the office said. Any challenge to a certified result has to go through the state’s election contest process.

Election night results are unofficial. Before they become official, state law requires counties to reconcile and verify their election records, including comparing precinct tally tapes to reported results, the office said. The state expects to certify the results on Dec. 1.

Meanwhile, Democrats have reported gains across the South on Election Day, where the party flipped seats from Texas to the Carolinas, including former Gov. Roy Cooper’s win in North Carolina’s open Senate race.

DesJarlais has held the seat since 2011. In 2024, Broderick lost to him by more than 40 points. This year Republican state lawmakers redrew the district to stretch from rural Middle Tennessee to include new parts of more urban areas such as Nashville and Murfreesboro. Nashville has been a reliably Democratic area in the state for decades.

In her speech, Broderick said she ran without political insiders, endorsements, or corporate PAC money.

“We didn’t have the political machine behind us. We had people. We had you,” she said. “And it turns out that’s all we needed.”

She asked everyone who voted for her, and those who didn’t, to hold her accountable. “I work for you,” she said.

In a statement to a local outlet on Wednesday, Broderick said “District 4 rose to the occasion, at a time when rising costs, the war in Iran, and political chaos affects the lives of everyday Americans.”

Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Rachel Campbell said in a statement just before midnight on Election Day that Republicans redrew the congressional map rather than earning voters’ support. She said Democrats also flipped six Republican-held seats in the state House.

“Her victory is a testament to the power of strong candidates, sustained grassroots organizing, and the infrastructure Democrats are building to compete and win in every corner of Tennessee,” Campbell said.

Bruning said volunteers won over neighbors who don’t always vote the same way by focusing on shared worries like putting food on the table, paying bills, and keeping gas in their cars. “Those aren’t Republican or Democratic problems.”

She said she hopes the result reminds people “that organizing in rural communities matters, that every conversation matters, and that no community should ever be counted out.”

DesJarlais’s campaign, Broderick’s campaign, the Tennessee Republican Party, the NRCC, the DCCC, and the DNC did not respond by publication to requests for comment from The Epoch Times.