Tennessee's 8th District Primary

Four Democrats compete Aug. 6 for the right to challenge Republican incumbent David Kustoff in Tennessee's 8th District primary 2026, a race every major forecaster rates as a near-certain Republican hold. Kustoff runs unopposed on the GOP side, meaning the primary's only real contest plays out among Democrats vying for a nomination in one of the state's most Republican-leaning districts. The general election follows Nov. 3.

Tennessee's 8th Congressional District covers the western end of the state, a largely rural stretch of West Tennessee anchored by the city of Jackson and running west to the Mississippi River. The district is one of nine congressional seats Tennessee sends to the U.S. House, each electing a single representative.

Tennessee uses a traditional partisan primary system. Republican and Democratic voters cast separate ballots on the same day to choose their party nominees. No top-two or ranked-choice mechanism applies; the winner of each party primary advances directly to the general election.

The Candidates

Republican Party

Kustoff has held this West Tennessee seat since January 2017. A Shelby County-born attorney and University of Memphis law school graduate, he sits on the House Committee on Ways and Means in the 119th Congress, including its Subcommittees on Tax and on Health. Among his recent legislative priorities is the PAR Act (H.R. 9176), a bill that would extend traditional financial asset tax benefits to digital assets. He faces no Republican primary opponent.

Democratic Party

Four Democrats are on the Aug. 6 ballot. Heidi Kuhn of Cordova enters the race as the most prominent candidate in the field. The outgoing Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk, Kuhn has assembled an endorsement coalition that includes Rep. Steve Cohen, former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton, and former Tennessee House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh. She previously sought the Democratic nomination for Shelby County mayor without success, and entered this race following redistricting.

Dewey Gordon Bryan of Germantown brings a military and aviation background to the contest. A U.S. Navy veteran, he spent nearly 35 years as a commercial pilot for FedEx before entering the race. He is campaigning on healthcare access, working-family economics, and government accountability.

Jordan D. Hinders of Arlington serves as a deputy sheriff at the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. He participated in the field's first public forum ahead of the August primary.

Leonard Perkins of Memphis is the pastor of Patmos Island Community Church and a retired U.S. Air Force air traffic controller. He has sought this seat before, running on a faith-based community platform.

Brenda Woods also appears on the Democratic primary ballot. No verified public profile information is available for her at this time.

Independent

George Herold appears on the primary ballot as an independent candidate. No verified public profile information is available for him at this time.

The Money Behind the Race

Candidates in this race have raised a combined $2,444,193 across all campaigns through Aug. 3. No outside spending has been recorded for the contest through that date: no independent expenditures or electioneering communications have been reported to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for Tennessee's 8th District.

Ratings vs. Odds

Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections all rate Tennessee's 8th Congressional District as Solid Republican. Cook's rating carries an as-of date of July 16; Sabato's Crystal Ball updated its rating July 30; Inside Elections last updated June 30. The consensus rating, as of July 30, is Solid Republican across all three.

Kalshi prediction markets put the Republican nominee's probability of winning at 92% versus 8% for the Democrat, as of Aug. 3. That market has seen 8,058 contracts traded.

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