State Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill, on Monday announced his candidacy for the newly redrawn 9th Congressional District, which now stretches from Memphis to Williamson County. He will face state Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, who announced his candidacy for the newly redrawn district moments after the Tennessee General Assembly redistricted the seat. "I'm not a politician picked by insiders, consultants, and lobbyists,” Warner said in a release. "This district was built by family farms, blue-collar workers, small businesses, and proud Tennessee communities that have spent far too long being ignored by the people in power." The Williamson Scene has more on Warner's tenure in the state legislature.

Tennessee state Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, announced his candidacy for the newly redrawn 9th Congressional District moments after the Tennessee General Assembly redistricted the seat, which had been held by Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen for nearly two decades. The redistricting, triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court's April 29 ruling in State of Louisiana v. Callais, split Memphis into three districts and created a new 9th that stretches along Tennessee's southern border from Whitehaven to Lynchburg, also picking up the Nashville suburb of Brentwood. Taylor has pushed for federal intervention in Memphis crime and has criticized local officials over prosecution rates. The Commercial Appeal has the story.

Voter turnout in Shelby County’s first election of 2026 reached 16%, with 89,848 of the county’s 577,527 registered voters casting ballots through early voting, absentee voting or on Election Day, according to the Daily Memphian. While turnout was not high, it exceeded expectations and surpassed turnout in similar recent election cycles, including 11% in 2022 and 13.8% in 2018. Election officials said a break in the rain on May 5 likely contributed to increased voter traffic later in the day. The county’s partisan primary elections historically have low turnout, with the highest turnout since 1992 reaching 18% in 2002.

Voters across Tennessee cast their ballots yesterday during the state’s May primary. In Memphis, Mickell M. Lowry clinched the Democratic nomination for Shelby County mayor against Republican nominee John J. Deberry Jr. and four court clerk seats were decided. Only one was contested. The Commercial Appeal reports on those results. In Jackson, attorney Jen Free will be unopposed for a General Sessions judgeship in August. The Jackson Sun has that coverage, as well as the results of two court clerk races. Nashville saw three judge races decided, including the upset of two of the three incumbents. Three court clerk seats and the public defender also were on the ballot. The Tennessean reports on those races. In Chattanooga, Jennifer Peck was unchallenged for the Hamilton County Circuit Court judge seat while two of three court clerk positions will be unopposed in August, according to Chattanoogan.com. Finally in Knox County, incumbent General Session Judge Andrea Kline will face Democractic challenger Ben Houston III in the August election, Knox News reports. The paper also reports that Emily Abbott will be the lone general election candidate for a criminal court seat and two court clerk candidates will advance to the general election unopposed. The Tennessee Secretary of State’s website has a complete list of election results for each of the state’s counties. Early voting in the general election will run July 17-Aug. 1 with election day on Aug. 6.

Rogersville attorney Mark Stapleton was sworn in as 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court judge last Thursday. Judge John Dugger Jr. administered the oath. Stapleton was appointed by Gov. Bill Lee to fill a vacancy created by the elevation of Judge William Phillips to the Court of Appeals. The Citizen Tribune reports that Stapleton pledged to his future litigants that he will come to court every day ready to be fair, honest and respectful. “We’re gonna demand the same thing in our court rooms,” he said. “It’s a professional place to be and we’re going to treat it as such.” Stapleton has said he plans to run for the bench in the August primary and serve at least through the November general election.

This week brings the final installment of the Legislative Updates podcast for the regular session of the 114th Tennessee General Assembly. TBA lobbyists and attorneys Berkley Schwarz of Pier Strategies LLC and Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin of Adams & Reese discuss the 2026 legislative session winding down, the possibility of a special session to redistrict the state's congressional map and a look forward to the 2026 election cycle. Tune in on the TBA website or through this link. Attorneys interested in supporting the TBA’s lobbying efforts may do so by contributing to LAWPAC. Late Friday afternoon, Gov. Bill Lee officially called for a special legislative session to review the state's congressional map. Read more in a press release.

Martesha Johnson Moore is running for a third term as Nashville Metro Public Defender (PD) and is unopposed, just as she was in 2022. She also spent more than a decade in the office before succeeding Dawn Deaner as department head. Moore recently talked to the Nashville Banner about what has — and has not — changed with the city’s criminal justice system, commenting on caseloads, cash bail, night court judges and more.

The Red Bank City Commission has appointed attorney Bryan Hoss to serve as city judge until a special election on Aug. 6 to fill the remainder of Judge Johnny Houston’s term following his medical disability, Chattanoogan.com reports. Hoss, who had been serving in an interim capacity, said he has picked up qualifying papers and plans to run in the election. Hoss has more than 20 years of legal experience, including work in criminal defense, civil litigation and appellate advocacy. He is a graduate of the McCallie School and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.

The city of Red Bank has called a special election on Aug. 6 to replace longtime Judge Johnny Houston, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. After 25 years on the bench, Houston stepped down from judicial duties due to a medical issue, according to a city spokesperson. The city has appointed attorney Bryan Hoss to serve as the active judge on a monthly basis. The special election will coincide with the federal, state and county elections on Aug. 6. Petitions to run for the seat must be filed by June 12 at noon EDT. Candidates must be at least 30 years old, a Tennessee licensed attorney in good standing and a resident of the city for at least a year.

Tennessee voters will see new language on primary election ballot applications, which will require them to declare they are a bona fide member of the party whose primary they are voting in, Knox News reports. The language comes from an existing 1972 law, though it is now being highlighted on the ballot application. Every year before voters cast a ballot in person or by mail, they will have to sign a statement saying they are a member of the party in whose primary they're voting. The Tennessee Secretary of State's office in October instructed county election officials to highlight the statement that must be signed before voters can receive a ballot, Knox County elections administrator Chris Davis tells the paper.