KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After months of campaigning and record early voting rates in Tennessee, Election Day is here.
The presidential race has caught the most national attention, as Republican candidate Donald Trump vies against Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. However, there are plenty of local races that would impact East Tennessee communities.
A few of those races, as well as descriptions of each race, are available below.
U.S. President
Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump is facing Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris to be the next president of the United States.
About 77 million Americans already have voted early, but Harris and Trump are pushing to turn out many millions more supporters on Tuesday. Trump's campaign careened through a felony trial and several reported assassination attempts, while Harris emerged as the Democratic candidate relatively late in the election cycle following President Joe Biden's decision to end his bid for re-election.
Knoxville City Charter - Amendment 2
Knoxville voters will decide whether to adopt a proposal to change how the city conducts elections in the future. The proposal comes after the state's Republican supermajority decided to pass a law requiring Knoxville to change how it conducts elections.
The law was proposed by Republican Representative Elaine Davis, representing Knoxville. Before the law passed, Knoxville voters could only vote for city council candidates in their district during primary elections. In general elections, however, voters could also cast ballots for candidates outside their districts.
The new law effectively put an end to that style of voting, leaving Knoxville with two options: expand its voting style into an entirely at-large system, or revert to an entirely district-limited system.
By passing Amendment 2, voters would be able to vote for any candidate in both primary elections and general elections. If the amendment fails, Knoxville voters will only be able to vote for candidates within their districts during future elections.
Tennessee House - District 18
Democratic candidate Bryan Goldberg is vying for the District 18 seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives, running against Republican incumbent Elaine Davis.
Goldberg filed a lawsuit against Davis and Republican leadership during the race, saying they were making false statements about him and his wife. The lawsuit focused on a website and flyers that generally claimed the Goldbergs failed to pay their property taxes. Goldberg said he was a victim of theft when some of his mail was stolen, and a check for the taxes was modified and cashed by the thief.
He said he later paid the property taxes and the alleged thief was arrested in Indiana. Davis said she was not involved with nor aware of the website.
Davis won the District 18 seat around two years ago when she beat Democratic candidate Gregory Kaplan 54% to 46%.
U.S. House - District 2
Republican U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett is looking to hold onto his seat against Democratic contender Jane George. The district covers several East Tennessee counties, including Knox County.
George appeared on "Inside Tennessee" this fall but Burchett declined to take part in the format.
U.S. Senate
Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn is looking to hold onto her seat against veteran Tennessee representative and Democratic challenger Gloria Johnson. She emerged as the Democratic party's nominee after a statewide controversy that dubbed her a member of the "Tennessee Three" — a group of Democratic state lawmakers who faced expulsion votes after demonstrations advocating for gun restrictions erupted in the Tennessee House.
Johnson was the only one of the three who survived her expulsion vote. She appeared on WBIR's "Inside Tennessee" to talk about her race, but Blackburn's camp didn't respond to invitations.
