Live updates: What to know about presidential primary, local races for Super Tuesday in Tennessee

Staff report
Updated ·12 min read
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Voters across 15 states, including Tennessee, are heading to the polls today to cast ballots in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries — along with a host of local county races in the Volunteer States.

More delegates in the presidential nominating process are at stake today than on any other primary day. Former President Donald Trump is the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination, having won all but one primary so far.

On the Democratic side, incumbent President Joe Biden is expected to cruise to the Democratic nomination.

Follow along for live updates throughout the day from Super Tuesday in Tennessee and across the nation. Polls close at 7 p.m. CST.

∎ Election results: Check back here for election results when the polls close.

∎ Local races: See who's running in Davidson County

∎ Your vote: Election season is in full swing, and our journalists want to help you cut through the noise. Join our USA TODAY colleagues in a text group to talk about the election. We'll share breaking updates, important voter resources and exclusive conversations. And it's free! Sign up today.

Nashville election results

Davidson County Assessor of Property Vivian Wilhoite defeated Tomseia Day in her Democratic primary.

With all 179 precincts reporting, Wilhoite defeated Day by 23,171 to 12,404, according to unofficial election results.

Stephanie Williams won in a landslide over three others in the Democratic primary race for Nashville's Fourth Circuit Court judge.

Williams secured 23,473 votes to Audrey Anderson's 4,609, Tusca Alexis' 4,180 and Stanley Kweller's 3,073, according to unofficial vote totals.

With all precincts reporting, Robert Taylor defeated LaTonya Winfrey by 104 votes Tuesday in the Democratic primary for the District 1 Metro Nashville Schools Board of Education race, according to unofficial election results.

Winfrey had taken a 10-vote lead with 20 out of 32 precincts reporting before Taylor pulled ahead with a final count of 2,334 to Winfrey's 2,230.

Trump, Biden win in Tennessee

Republican Donald Trump won the GOP presidential primary in Tennessee, while incumbent President Joe Biden faced no opposition in the Democratic contest. Read more here.

Polls close across Tennessee

The polls have closed in Tennessee. Find live results here.

No issues as voter turnout sparse in Nashville

Voter turnout is light compared to 2020, Davidson Election Election Commissioner Jeff Roberts said.

According to a sampling taken from some of the county's top precincts, Roberts said turnout is trending down, and could be only about 40% of 2020's turnout.

Although there were no major issues Tuesday, Roberts said there were two power outages that were restored within minutes, including one at Gra-Mar Middle School.

Fact checking campaign ads for you

Campaign ads have flooded social media leading up to Super Tuesday as the remaining presidential candidates attempt to win over primary voters in 15 states and one territory.

These ads have spread widely – to more than a million screens in some cases – but many include false or misleading descriptions of past actions and policy proposals. Here’s a rundown of recent ads debunked by the USA TODAY Fact-Check Team:

– USA TODAY

Who won past Tennessee primaries

2020

Republican primary: Incumbent Donald Trump carried the state with 96.5% of the vote.

Democratic primary: Joe Biden won Tennessee with 41.7% of the vote. Coming in second was Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with 25% followed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg with 15.5%.

2016

Republican primary: Donald Trump won the state with 38.9% of the vote, followed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz with 24.7% and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio with 21.2%.

Democratic primary: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won 66.1% of the vote, followed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with 32.4%.

2012

Republican primary: Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum carried Tennessee with 37.2% of the vote, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 28.1% and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 23.9%. Romney would go on to secure the GOP nomination.

Democratic primary: Incumbent President Barack Obama won Tennessee with 88.5% of the vote.

2008

Republican primary: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee won Tennessee with 34.5% of the vote, followed by Arizona Sen. John McCain with 31.8% and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at 23.6%. McCain would go on to win the GOP nomination.

Democratic primary: New York Sen. Hillary Clinton won Tennessee with 53.8% of the voter, followed by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama with 40.5%. Obama would go on to win the Democratic nomination and the presidency.

— Duane W. Gang, The Tennessean

Presidential Primary could set up historic rematch

Tuesday’s presidential primary could be one of the shortest competitive cycles in recent memory for Republican voters, as former president Donald Trump rockets towards securing the nomination against his only remaining opponent Nikki Haley.

Voters across 15 states, including Tennessee, are casting their votes Tuesday for their pick in the presidential primary, among other races.

Tuesday’s primary also includes Texas and California—the two most populous states—meaning more than one-third of the total delegates will be up for grabs.

Republican presidential candidates need 1,215 delegates to win the nomination, a number experts expect Trump will quickly cinch after the mid-March primaries are held in a number of additional states, including Arizona, Ohio, Kansas and Florida.

Trump currently has 273 delegates going into the Super Tuesday primaries, with Haley only holding 43.

Haley has faced mounting pressure to drop out of the race, despite winning her first primary on Sunday in Washington D.C.

If Trump wins the presidential primary, the win will set the stage for an unprecedented rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden.

Biden has secured all 206 delegates in the four Democratic primaries that have yet occurred.

— Angele Latham, The Tennessean

What to know about Nashville property assessor race

Nashville’s current property assessor faces a challenger from a former employee of her office.

Davidson County Assessor of Property Vivian Wilhoite, who has held the job since 2016, faces Tomesia Day, who worked in the office from 2013 to 2020 before resigning.

The assessor of property is responsible for appraising the value of nearly every parcel in Davidson County. That appraisal determines how a property is taxed.

Wilhoite and Day are Democrats and face no Republican candidates. The winner of Tuesday’s primary all but wins the race, facing only independent candidates in August’s countywide general election.

The assessor of property serves a four-year term. Learn more about the race here.

— Evan Mealins, The Tennessean

What to know for Nashville’s judge race

The judgeship up for grabs this election cycle is for one of Davidson County’s two family courts.

The Davidson County Fourth Circuit Court handles domestic issues like divorces, custody disputes, child support and adoption. It’s the only judge seat on Nashville ballots because it was prompted by the death of former judge Philip Smith, who died in office.

Current judge Stan Kweller was appointed by Gov. Lee to serve until voters could decide who to take the seat. Kweller was sworn in last January.

Kweller is one of four candidates vying for the job. Others include Stephanie Williams, who served as the court’s special master under Smith; Tusca Alexis, a mediator in family law; and Audrey Anderson, a family law attorney who runs her own practice.

All these candidates are Democrats. Since there are no Republicans running, the winner is expected to take the seat after the county general election on Aug. 1, when they will face any independent candidates, who don’t have to go through the primary process.

Circuit court judges serve eight-year terms.

You can read more about the candidates here.

— Evan Mealins, The Tennessean

What to know about the school board races in Nashville 

Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 for the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education are on the ballot this year.

A Tennessee law allowing school board races to be partisan took effect in 2022. It was up to Democratic and Republican leadership in Davidson County to decide if they would hold partisan school board elections. The county GOP ultimately voted to do so, while Democrats said they only would if the GOP did.

While five school board seats are up for election this year, four of those races have candidates running unopposed – including two incumbents. The sole competitive race is in District 1, which has drawn three Democratic candidates and one Republican candidate to replace outgoing board member Sharon Gentry.

Here is a look at who’s running in each district:

  • District 1: Dominique McCord-Cotton, Democrat; Demytris Savage-Short, Republican; Robert Taylor, Democrat; Latonya Winfrey, Democrat

  • District 3: Zach Young, Democrat

  • District 5: TK Fayne, Democrat

  • District 7: Freda Player, Democrat (incumbent)

  • District 9: Abigail Tylor, Democrat (incumbent)

And here are a few helpful links to catch up:

— Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean

Votes trickling in despite rain

KK Rainey was one of the few voters braving the mid-morning rain at the Westmeade Elementary School polling location in Nashville. She said that while she normally votes early, she was out of town for the early voting period and had to “make sure to vote for Trump.”

“We have to be sure that our country is run correctly,” she said. “We've got to do something about our borders, and our national security, and the economy. The list goes on and on. But I think that he's probably the only one that can do it.”

Another voter, John Starbuck, said he voted for Nikki Haley because the former South Carolina governor was “the best choice.”

“It is my responsibility to go vote,” he said, blinking in the rain. “I voted for Nikki Haley—I think she’s the best candidate.”

Opinions were diverse among voters, however. Shortly after Starbuck left, a trio of women walked up the hill to the polling location together.

The women, who declined to give their names for privacy reasons, stated that it was “their duty as American citizens to vote,” and they were “voting Democrat.”

— Angele Latham, The Tennessean

Why is today called Super Tuesday? 

Super Tuesday is the primary election day that decides the bulk of delegates for candidates in their respective parties.

The name “Super Tuesday” historically has been used to reference primary days when a significant number of states hold their primary elections, according to the National Constitution Center.

In 1984, the modern "Super Tuesday" began when March became the month to “frontload” the primaries.

- Rachel Looker, USA TODAY

Are you a 'bona fide' political party member? What those signs mean at polling places

A new law passed in May requires polling places to post signs informing voters it's illegal to cast a ballot in a partisan primary without being a "bona fide" member of that party. The law does not define what "bona fide" means.

Tennessee's primary elections are open, meaning any voter can select any ballot at the polls, and when registering they do not declare a party. Voters can select different party ballots in different election years.

A federal lawsuit, filed by former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe, Democrat Phil Lawson and the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, argued the signs would confused and discourage voters from casting their ballots. That lawsuit was dismissed Monday after the court said the plaintiffs are unable to prove the law actually confuses and suppresses voters.

— Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean

Who is on the presidential primary ballot in Tennessee? 

The Republican and Democratic presidential primaries in Tennessee will take place on March 5. Here's who will appear on the ballot.

Republican primary

  • Ryan Binkley

  • Chris Christie

  • Ron DeSantis

  • Nikki Haley

  • Asa Hutchinson

  • Vivek Ramaswamy

  • David Stuckenberg

  • Donald J. Trump

Democratic primary

  • Joseph R. Biden

— Melissa Brown, The Tennessean

Taylor Swift: Get out and vote

It wouldn't be an election without Taylor Swift encouraging people to go out and vote.

"Today, March 5, is the Presidential Primary in Tennessee and 16 other states and territories," Swift wrote in her Instagram story. "I wanted to remind you guys to vote the people who most represent YOU into power. If you haven't already, make a plan to vote today."

Tennessee is one of 16 states holding primaries.

— Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean

Polls open across Tennessee 

Polls have opened in Nashville and in most places across Tennessee. Polls close at 7 p.m. CST. If you need to double check your voter registration status or find your polling precinct, visit https://tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup 

As a reminder, it is too late to register to vote for today’s election. In addition, don’t forget a photo ID before you head to the polls. Tennessee requires one to cast a ballot.

— Duane W. Gang, The Tennessean

Catch up on what's at stake

∎ What is Super Tuesday? A primer on what states are voting today and what's on the ballot in the Nashville area.

∎ 3 questions Super Tuesday will answer: Will Haley drop out? Will Trump turn to moderates?

∎ Haley notches first win: Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won Sunday's Republican primary in Washington, D.C., securing 19 delegates. Still, it will be an uphill battle for Haley against Trump.

∎ Track the delegates: As the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries unfold, track the delegates each candidate has won toward securing the nominations.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Live updates for Super Tuesday in Tennessee: Will Trump win? Local races on ballot