Tennessee voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday for Election Day after nearly 1.3 million early ballots were cast before voting ended this past Thursday. That means more than a quarter of registered voters in the state had already voted before the final day began.
For people searching where can I vote near me, the answer matters most now because the governor's race is finally in the hands of Election Day voters. GOP nominee Marsha Blackburn, Democratic nominee Jerri Green, Independent Dave Hatley and Independent Lauran Pinkston are all on the ballot, and the outcome will decide who leads Tennessee and represents the state in Congress in today's midterm election.
The early vote itself showed a race that had already drawn heavy attention. Nearly 1.3 million Tennesseans took part, more than voted early in the 2022 mid-term, though still about 9% fewer than the ballots cast in the 2018 governor's race. That pace matters because it is the best public sign so far of how engaged voters are before the last in-person ballots are counted.
The numbers also point to a contest that has tightened. A poll conducted a week ago by the Hatley campaign showed Blackburn at 34.5%, Green at 30.1%, Hatley at 26.5% and Pinkston at 3%. Blackburn had been the favorite early in the race, but her lead has slipped over the past year, and the poll suggests she is no longer running far ahead of the field.
That shift is part of why the race has stayed competitive even as Blackburn declined to take part in any debates or forums where she was on stage with all of her challengers. That included the Tennessee Press Association forum at Middle Tennessee State University last week in Murfreesboro, where the campaign contrast was plain for voters who were still trying to sort out where to go and who to trust.
Luis Mata said the only poll that really matters is the one happening on Tuesday, and he cast the latest numbers as a sign that voters want something different after nearly two decades of Republican control. Megan Lee Podsiedlik said Blackburn still has to show up for her base, even if skipping forums does not necessarily hurt her with it. For Blackburn, Green, Hatley and Pinkston, the next step is simple: wait for the ballots from Election Day in Tennessee to be counted and see whether the early lead she once had still holds when the votes are all in.
