By J. Holly McCall | Editor-in-Chief
Good morning, Lookout readers:
After Tennessee Republicans redrew three congressional districts in West and Middle Tennessee intended to give the GOP an advantage in winning the lone Memphis-based Democratic-held seat, they also narrowed Republican margins in those districts giving Democrats hope for a “dummymander,” or a failed gerrymander.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee piled on, backing District 5 nominee Chaz Molder and District 9 nominee Rep. Justin J. Pearson.
But Democratic candidates in East Tennessee seats, traditionally held by Republicans, continue to slug it out on their own.
Lookout contributor Larry Griffin writes about one of those, Michaela Barnett in the 2nd Congressional District, last held by a Democrat in 1855. Barnett has raised more than $630,000 to take on incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, who failed to respond to interview requests.
In other news:
Congressional candidate injured in Memphis wreck. Heidi Kuhn, the Democratic nominee for the 8th Congressional District and former Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk, was hospitalized after she and her husband, Matt, were injured in a multi-car accident Frida night. Kuhn posted a video on her Facebook page Sunday detailing her injuries, which include a broken nose and broken maxilla.
What a shock. A report from the Southern Environmental Law Center finds Elon Musk’s Boring Company’s plan to dig tunnels for a Tesla vehicle-only tunnel in Nashville could lead to sinkholes. Whaddya know! Julianne Akers reports for the Nashville Scene.
THE LOOKOUT’S TOP STORY
Knoxville engineer and business owner Michael Barnett, right, is the Democratic nominee in the 2nd Congressional District. She’s challenging four-term incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett for the seat. (Photo: Burchett by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout; Barnett submitted by campaign.)
by Larry Griffin for Tennessee Lookout
Michaela Barnett, a Knoxville small business owner and scientist, is attempting to overturn more than a century of Republican domination in Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District by beating U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett in November.
NEWS AND NOTES
FEATURED IN THE LOOKOUT
Voters in several counties have reported their selections default to a candidate they didn’t select, and a spokesman for the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office urges voters to avail themselves of all safeguard measures. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Sam Stockard
A Tennessee Democratic lawmaker is calling for election officials to resolve complaints that voting machines are defaulting to candidates they didn’t want to select but stopped short of saying ballots are rigged.
FEATURED IN THE LOOKOUT
Casa Azafran, a cultural community center in South Nashville, serves as a precinct during elections and drew ‘No Kings’ attendees Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
by Cassandra Stephenson
Eight days into early voting, turnout was more than 57% higher for Tennessee’s Nov. 3 midterm election than it was in 2022, according to state data, but lags behind 2018’s 8-day total.
COMMENTARY
Book bans, like a recent one in Jefferson County, Tennessee, in which school administrators removed 32 titles from book shelves, deprive children of finding versions of themselves they can’t see elsewhere. (Photo: Holly McCall/Tennessee Lookout)
by Kabal Briar
Last week, Jefferson County Schools pulled 32 books from its libraries under Tennessee’s Age Appropriate Materials Act. I know there is a boy in that county tonight who is going to need a book and the shelf he would have reached for is a little emptier than the one I had in Erin, Tennessee — and mine was not full.
ICYMI
Thanks for reading The Daily Lookout. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.