Tennessee's 6th District Primary

Four Republicans and six Democrats face off Aug. 6 in the Tennessee 6th Congressional District primary, a contested fight to determine who will almost certainly hold this seat for the next two years. Incumbent Republican Rep. John W. Rose is running for reelection against three GOP challengers. At the same time, six Democrats compete in their own primary ahead of a November general election that every major ratings organization already calls Solid Republican. Across both parties, 10 candidates will appear on primary ballots Tuesday, with the winners advancing to a Nov. 3 general election that will draw 16 candidates in total, including independents and others.

Tennessee runs a traditional partisan primary. Republicans vote in their own contest, Democrats in theirs, and the winners meet in November. There is no top-two or ranked-choice mechanism. The state requires no runoff in U.S. House primaries; the candidate with the most votes in each party primary wins outright, even without a majority.

Rose has held the seat since 2019. All three major race-rating outlets rate the district Solid Republican, and prediction markets price the Republican nominee's odds of winning the general election at 95 percent.

The Candidates

Republican Primary

John W. Rose, the incumbent, won the seat in 2018 and has held it since. He faces three primary challengers seeking to end his tenure before the general election.

Van Hilleary brings the longest political resume in the Republican field. He represented Tennessee's 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House from 1995 to 2003, then ran for governor in 2002, losing narrowly to Democrat Phil Bredesen. A U.S. Air Force veteran and University of Tennessee graduate, Hilleary most recently served as chief of staff to Rose himself, a role that gives him direct familiarity with the district's operations and constituent base.

Johnny Garrett is a sitting Tennessee state representative. He has represented District 45, which covers the northern Nashville suburbs in Sumner County, since 2019. An attorney and a seventh-generation Goodlettsvillian, Garrett has run alongside Hilleary as one of the two candidates drawing the most attention at the top of the GOP field.

Also running in the Republican primary: Jon Henry and Natisha Brooks.

Democratic Primary

Six Democrats compete for the right to face the Republican nominee in November.

Megan Barry is the most recognizable name in the Democratic field. She served as Nashville's mayor from 2015 until March 2018, when she resigned after pleading guilty to a felony theft charge. A grand jury found she had misused city funds during an extramarital affair with a member of her security detail. Barry paid $11,000 in restitution and served probation. Her entry into this race drew attention across the district given her profile in the Nashville area.

Chaney Mosley is a public school teacher, U.S. Army veteran, and fourth-generation Tennessean raised in Nashville's Antioch community. He has centered his candidacy on his working-class background and military service.

Also running in the Democratic primary: Mike Croley, Lore Bergman, Christopher Martin Finley, and Miriam Leibowitz.

The Money Behind the Race

Candidates in this race have raised a combined $4,203,167 across all campaigns, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records as of Aug. 3. No independent expenditures or outside communication costs have been recorded for this contest through that date, meaning the race has drawn no reported outside spending from super PACs, party committees, or other independent groups.

Ratings vs. Odds

Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections all rate Tennessee's 6th District as Solid Republican. Cook issued its rating July 16, Inside Elections on June 30, and Sabato's Crystal Ball most recently on July 30. The consensus rating, as tracked by 270toWin, stands at Solid Republican as of July 30.

Kalshi prices the Republican nominee's probability of winning the general election at 95%, with the Democratic nominee at 5%. The market had recorded 189 contracts traded as of Aug. 3.

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