Tennessee's 4th District Primary

Republican incumbent Scott DesJarlais faces three challengers in the Tennessee 4th District primary on Aug. 6, while five Democrats compete the same day to pick their nominee for a seat every major ratings organization calls Solid Republican. Voters in both parties cast separate ballots under Tennessee's traditional partisan primary system; the winners advance directly to the Nov. 3 general election.

The district covers a broad swath of middle and southeastern Tennessee, stretching across a large geographic footprint that includes portions of the Cumberland Plateau. It is one of the state's more rural constituencies and elects a single member to the U.S. House. The 2026 cycle brought a significant redraw: the district now runs from part of Davidson County south to the Alabama state line, a geographic shift that reshuffled candidate calculations on both sides of the ballot.

Tennessee holds no top-two or ranked-choice primary. Each party selects its nominee independently, and the general election ballot will carry candidates from the Republican, Democratic, and Independent parties: 10 candidates in total across all parties.

The Candidates

Republican Primary

DesJarlais, a physician first elected in 2010, has held the seat since January 2011, making him one of the longest-serving members of the Tennessee congressional delegation. In the 119th Congress, he sits on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Armed Services, where he chairs the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, a post that gives him oversight of the nation's nuclear deterrent and missile defense programs. His legislative record centers on fiscal conservatism, border security, and military readiness. Among his cited accomplishments is legislation allowing military personnel to carry firearms at recruiting stations, enacted after the 2015 Chattanooga terrorist attack.

Joshua James, an Army veteran and Rutherford County Commissioner, is running as a grassroots conservative challenger. His military background and local government experience anchor his campaign, which he has framed around prioritizing the people of the 4th District.

Harold "Rocky" Jones, a veteran from Manchester, has built his campaign around opposition to out-of-state corporate land purchases in Tennessee. He argues that outside interests are pushing everyday residents out of their own communities and has pointed to his military service as central to his qualifications for the seat.

Tom Davis rounds out the Republican field. No additional biographical detail is available in the source data.

Democratic Primary

Mike Cortese enters the Democratic primary as the best-funded candidate on his side of the ballot. A Nashville Metro Council member representing District 4, music industry veteran, and Belmont University adjunct professor, Cortese has called Nashville home for 25 years. His campaign draws on his local government and community experience.

Victoria Broderick, a Fayetteville mother working in the tech industry, raised roughly $50,000 through the first quarter of 2026, the second-highest total among Democrats in the race. She has been an outspoken critic of the incumbent.

Joyce E. Neal, a Davidson County Democratic Party Executive Committee member from Antioch, is also on the Democratic ballot. Tim Lanier of Nashville and Cliff Huffman of Sewanee complete the five-candidate Democratic field.

The Money Behind the Race

Outside spending in this race is minimal. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) recorded $231 in total independent expenditures through July 1, with no communication costs on record.

The sole outside spender is the Freedom Caucus Fund, which accounts for all $231: every dollar directed in support of DesJarlais. No other candidate in the race has drawn any reported outside spending, and no opposition spending appears in the FEC data.

Candidates raised a combined $1,408,979 across the field. The FEC data does not include a party-level breakdown of outside spending, though the entire outside money footprint flows toward the Republican incumbent by default. With outside expenditures this low, the primary turns almost entirely on what the candidates themselves have raised and spent.

Ratings vs. Odds

Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections all rate Tennessee's 4th Congressional District as Solid Republican. Cook issued that rating July 16; Sabato's Crystal Ball confirmed it July 30; Inside Elections had it in place as of June 30. The consensus rating, as of July 30, is Solid Republican across all three.

Prediction markets reflect the same picture. On Kalshi, the Republican nominee carries a 93.1% probability of winning the general election, against 6.9% for the Democrat, based on $1,354 in trading volume as of Aug. 3.

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