Who's In The Race

Early voting opens Wednesday, Oct. 14, in Tennessee's 8th Congressional District, and for voters in East Memphis and Cordova it is the first chance to weigh in on a seat they were drawn into this spring. Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN), a former U.S. attorney from Germantown who has held the seat since 2017, is seeking a sixth term against Democrat Heidi Kuhn, the former Shelby County Criminal Court clerk. ​

The map Gov. Bill Lee signed Thursday, May 7, split Memphis among the 5th, 8th and 9th districts and eliminated the state's only majority Black district. A three-judge federal panel declined in July to block the new lines, the Daily Memphian reported. The 8th now runs from East Memphis, Germantown, Collierville and Bartlett east across 11 rural and small-city counties to Perry County.

Kustoff was unopposed in the Thursday, Aug. 6, Republican primary. Kuhn won a four-way Democratic primary with about 52% of the vote. Six independents also qualified for the ballot: Adam Austill, Wendell "Wells" Blankenship, Antonio Futch, Pamela Moses, Horace Taylor and Henry J. Ward III.

What They Stand For

Kustoff sits on the House Ways and Means Committee and hosted a committee field hearing in Collierville on Tuesday, Oct. 6, promoting the tax law Republicans passed last year. His Small Business Tax Cut Act would expand the deduction for small businesses, farmers and independent professionals. His office announced Thursday that President Donald Trump signed his bill giving identity theft victims a single Social Security Administration contact until their case is resolved.

Kuhn, endorsed by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), backs a $17 federal minimum wage and opposes the state takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools and private school vouchers. She told the Tri-State Defender that "the National Guard should only be deployed when there is a national emergency," and she wants a federal review of local immigration enforcement operations.

The Money Behind The Race

Kustoff reported raising about $2.1 million from Jan. 1, 2025, through July 17 and had about $3 million in the bank, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Kuhn reported raising about $40,000 from April 1 through July 17 and had about $13,500 left.

Race Outlook: Ratings And Betting Markets

The Cook Political Report rates the race Solid Republican as of Sept. 25, and Inside Elections gives it the same rating as of Oct. 2. Sabato's Crystal Ball calls it Safe Republican as of Sept. 29. Traders on Polymarket favored Republicans to hold the seat at about 93% as of Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Under the old lines, Kustoff won about 74% of the vote in 2022 and about 72% in 2024. President Donald Trump carried Tennessee with about 64% in 2024, and Republicans held eight of the state's nine House seats.

The registration deadline passed Monday, Oct. 5. Early voting runs from Wednesday, Oct. 14, through Thursday, Oct. 29, and polls close at 7 p.m. Central time on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

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