Some campaign seasons feel longer than others. In some ways, the turbulent, dramatic and apparently quite tight race for U.S. president feels like it’s been going since January 2021. 

Republicans currently hold 5 out 7 state House seats in Knox County.

Starting today, Knox County voters finally have the opportunity to have their say — not only in the election between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, but in a host of state races down the ballot. Early voting continues through Oct. 31, ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

And City of Knoxville residents will find two more items at the bottom of the ballot, referendums on two proposed changes to City Council elections.

As always, at Compass we are moving all of our election-related coverage outside our paywall from now through Election Day. You can find links to those embedded below.

There are 11 early voting locations open this week and next, with a 12th coming on line for the final four days on the University of Tennessee campus. In general, they are open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, with varying hours on Saturdays. A few locations have slightly different hours. You can find all the details of times and locations on the website of the Knox County Election Commission. 

Here’s a quick look at the local races and issues on the ballot in Knox County.

State Senate District 6

Republican incumbent Sen. Becky Duncan Massey is seeking a fourth term in the seat she has held since 2011. She is facing Democrat Domonica Bryan. Massey survived a challenge from the right in the March Republican primary. The district swoops through north, east and south Knox County. (Compass coverage here.)

State House District 14

State Rep. Jason Zachary, a Republican, is seeking a fifth term representing the suburban West Knox County district, which includes Farragut and its surroundings. He is facing Democrat Amanda Collins, who also ran against him in 2020. Zachary won that race with 64 percent of the vote, but Collins is seeking to make inroads in the traditionally conservative district. (Compass coverage here.)

State House District 15

The most Democratic-leaning district in the county, District 15 encompasses East Knoxville, downtown, much of city-limits South Knoxville, and parts of northwest Knoxville through Lonsdale. State Rep. Sam McKenzie, a Democrat and the only Black member of the county’s legislative delegation, is seeking a third term. He defeated former County Commissioner Dasha Lundy in the Democratic primary in March, and is facing Republican Justin Hirst in the general election.

Hirst lost the Republican primary that same month for the 1st District County Commission seat, and shifted his sights to run for the Legislature instead. (Compass coverage of those two primaries, with candidate profiles: McKenzie, Hirst.)

State House District 16

Republican incumbent Rep. Michele Carringer is seeking a third term, facing two opponents: Democrat Lauren Carver and independent candidate Sean Eastham. Carringer, a former Knox County commissioner, has been a reliable party-line voter for the Republican supermajority in the Legislature, rarely bringing much attention to herself.

The district stretches across North Knox County to take in Halls and Powell. Like Carringer, it tends to vote reliably Republican — she won it with 69 percent of the vote in her first run in 2020, and faced no opposition in 2022.

State House District 18

The most-watched local race on the ballot this fall pits freshman state Rep. Elaine Davis, a Republican, against Democratic challenger Bryan Goldberg. The district includes some blue and purple voting precincts in West Knoxville along with some deep-red ones south along Alcoa Highway. Davis won relatively easily in 2022, taking 54 percent of the vote — but that was still the smallest margin of any Republican legislator in Knox County.

The Democratic Party has invested heavily in the race, seeing it as the county’s most flippable seat. Goldberg has out-fundraised Davis this year and run a robust campaign. He has also been subject to something of a smear campaign by the state House Republican Caucus, which has attacked him in greatly misleading terms for paying property taxes a few months late one time — for which Goldberg says there is a good explanation involving identity theft that he and his wife were victims of. (Compass coverage here.)

State House District 19

Rep. Dave Wright is the only unopposed Republican among Knox County’s legislative incumbents this year. The generally genial and soft-spoken East Knox County representative — also a former county commissioner — drew no Democratic opposition in the largely rural and strongly Republican district. (Compass interview with him from the 2022 race.)

State House District 89

State Rep. Justin Lafferty, the Republican incumbent in the 89th District, is running for his fourth term against Democratic challenger Cary Hammond. Lafferty is a staunch conservative who generally maintains a low profile in Nashville, but Hammond maintains that he and other members of the GOP supermajority are out of touch with everyday Tennesseans.

The 89th District includes fast-growing Hardin Valley and Karns in Northwest Knox County. It’s a Republican stronghold — Lafferty has received 64 percent or more of the vote in his three previous campaigns for office.

State House District 90

Voters in District 90, which stretches across North Knoxville into near West Knoxville, have an unusual opportunity this year: They can vote for or against state Rep. Gloria Johnson for two different offices. Johnson, among the most outspoken Democrats in the state Legislature, became a familiar name across the state and even the nation last year as one of the “Tennessee Three” — a trio of Democrats who were proposed for expulsion from the state House after staging a brief gun-safety protest on the House floor.

Johnson was not expelled — keeping her seat by one vote — but her colleagues Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville and Justin Pearson of Memphis were, becoming heroes to Democrats and gun safety advocates across the country. The elevated profile gave Johnson a platform from which to run for U.S. Senate against Republican incumbent Marsha Blackburn.

As a fallback, she is also running to keep her seat in the state House. Some Republicans in the state Legislature tried to pass a bill that would have blocked her (or anyone) from seeking two offices on the same ballot, but it failed, leaving her free to pursue both. And while the Senate race is clearly an uphill battle in a state where no Democrat has won statewide office in 18 years, Johnson has no such difficulty in her home district — the GOP didn’t even field an opponent to challenge her. (Compass coverage of her Senate campaign here.)

U.S. House of Representatives District 2

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett is running for a fourth term in one of the traditionally safest GOP districts in the country. The 2nd District has sent a Republican to Congress as long as there has been a Republican Party.

Burchett received at least 60 percent of the vote in each of his three previous congressional elections. He’s running against Democrat Jane George, who mounted an unsuccessful challenge to state Sen. Becky Duncan Massey in 2020. Burchett has had an interesting term, in which among other things he was one of eight House Republicans who helped overthrow former Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Knox County is at the heart of the district, but it also includes Loudon, Blount, Union, Grainger, Campbell and Claiborne counties.

City of Knoxville Charter Referendums

#1: 

City voters will have two Charter amendments dealing with municipal elections on the ballot. The first one would move 5th District elections to the same election cycle as the other districts. Currently, the 5th District Council races are held during the same cycle as the contests for mayor, municipal judge and the three at-large seats.

If approved, the 5th District winner in the 2027 election would serve only a two-year term. The 2029 winner would serve a regular four-year term along with the other district representatives. Current 5th District Councilman Charles Thomas is term limited, so his service would not be affected by the change.

The amendment would go into effect, or not, regardless of the fate of Charter Amendment No. 2.

#2:  

The last item on the ballot for city voters is Charter Amendment No. 2, which would change the way district Council representatives are elected. A change became necessary when the Tennessee Legislature outlawed the system the city has used since 1969.

If approved, the six district seats on Council would be elected on an at-large basis. The districts would be renamed after geographic regions, and candidates would have to live in the region they wish to represent, but voters citywide would vote for regional candidates in both the primary and general elections.

If voters reject the amendment, the city would default to a district-only voting system like the one used in most cities, county governments and legislative races. Only residents in a district could vote for a district representative in both the primary and general elections.

In either scenario, the three current at-large seats would remain unchanged. (Compass coverage here.)