Early voting surpasses 25,000 as district’s turnout remains tilted toward GOP-leaning counties

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Early voting in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District climbed to 25,320 ballots through the first five days of the period, as turnout patterns continued to show strong participation across Republican-leaning counties and steadier but still modest growth in Davidson County. Monday’s total of 4,961 ballots marked a return to typical weekday levels following Saturday’s decline.

Montgomery County remains the largest source of early votes, reporting 6,555 ballots through Monday. The county accounts for 25.9 percent of the districtwide early vote and has maintained consistently high participation since opening day, a pattern that mirrors its role in the October special primary and in previous off-cycle elections.

Davidson County recorded 6,445 ballots through Day 5, representing 25.45 percent of all early votes. The county continues to trail the share typically associated with competitive Democratic performance in the 7th District. During past general-election cycles, Nashville-area turnout has needed to comprise a significantly larger portion of the districtwide total to offset Republican strengths in the surrounding counties. Davidson’s share so far remains stable but below those historical benchmarks.

Republican-leaning and solidly Republican counties continue to post strong early numbers. Williamson County has reached 3,055 early votes, maintaining one of the highest participation levels outside the district’s two population centers. Dickson, Robertson and Hickman remain consistent with their usual off-year turnout patterns, together forming a substantial portion of the district’s right-leaning early vote.

Cheatham and Humphreys — the district’s two smaller “in-play” counties outside Montgomery — have recorded 1,741 and 771 ballots respectively. Both remain on track with their typical special-election pacing, with neither showing significant deviations from past cycles.

Elsewhere in the western portion of the district, rural counties including Benton, Houston, Perry, Stewart, Wayne and Decatur continue to mirror their usual profiles. None have shown unusual movement, surges or declines, suggesting a stable turnout environment heading into the second week.

Structurally, the early-vote distribution remains weighted toward counties that traditionally support Republican candidates, with the combined “Solid R” and “Lean R” counties accounting for 38.7 percent of all ballots cast through Monday. Davidson and Montgomery together make up just over half of the early vote, but Nashville’s share remains lower than levels typically needed for a competitive Democratic path in the district.

Early voting continues through Nov. 26 ahead of the Dec. 2 special election.