Republican Bill Hagerty defeats Democrat Marquita Bradshaw in Tennessee Senate race
- Republican Bill Hagerty will replace retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander in Tennessee's Senate seat.
- Hagerty faced off against Democratic candidate Marquita Bradshaw, an environmental justice activist.
- Hagerty, a businessman and GOP donor, recently served as US Ambassador to Japan in the Trump administration.
- See the live coverage and full results from the US Senate elections.
Republican Bill Hagerty will replace retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander in Tennessee's Senate seat after defeating Democratic challenger Marquita Bradshaw.
The stakes of the race:
Hagerty, a longtime businessman and GOP donor, defeated Dr. Manny Sethi, a Nashville-based surgeon and first-time candidate, in the crowded Republican primary for Tennessee's US Senate race in August.
Hagerty is a Tennessee native who served as ambassador to Japan under the Trump administration for over two years from January 2017 to July 2019. He earned President Donald Trump's endorsement for the seat right out of the gate, but still faced a competitive race against Sethi, with the race developing into a referendum over which candidate would better support Trump and his priorities.
Hagerty's campaign platform emphasized supporting law enforcement, opposing socialism, bolstering Tennessee's economy, and combatting illegal immigration and human trafficking.
Bradshaw is an environmental justice organizer and activist from Memphis. She defeated minister and former Tennessee Assistant Attorney General Robin Kimbrough Hayes and US Army veteran and Tennessee National Guard Officer James Mackler, who had been endorsed by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, in the primary.
Bradshaw ran on a progressive platform, supporting a Medicare for All healthcare system, combatting climate change through the Green New Deal resolution, and improving equal access to quality education in Tennessee.
She won the primary in a major upset and entered the general at a significant cash disadvantage, having raised just $22,221 and spent over $20,000 as of July 17, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. By that time, Hagerty had raised $8.3 million and spent $5.6 million.
Hagerty was overwhelmingly favored to win the general election in deep-red Tennessee, which voted for Trump by a margin of over 25 percentage points in the 2016 election.
Tennessee's Senate race was rated as "safe Republican" by the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics and "solid Republican" by Inside Elections.