Updated to add Congressional race figures.
CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – 2026 will go down as one of the biggest shifts in American political history, and Clarksville-Montgomery County was no exception.
Despite having the second-ever presidential visit to our city – with Donald Trump speaking to some 3,000 people in a rally at F&M Bank Arena – the local GOP voter turnout was flat, and Montgomery County supported Democrat Jerri Green for governor over Republican Marsha Blackburn, defying the statewide results.
What does Tuesday night say about our local politics? Here are four takeaways.
1. 20,000 Trump voters stayed home
It’s pretty clear that Montgomery County’s Trump voters opted out of this election, while Democrats were fired up to vote. That’s evident in the typically party-line votes in the Blackburn-Green race.
On Tuesday, Green drew about 27,700 local votes to Blackburn’s 24,000.
Compare that the last presidential election: When Trump won in 2024, he drew 47,700 votes in Montgomery County – about double the GOP turnout on Tuesday. The 2024 Democratic turnout for Kamala Harris was 32,700, more in line with this week’s results.
In the Congressional races, the Republican candidates got a combined 26,260 Montgomery County votes, while the Democrats got 26,026. The U.S. Senate race was even more closely divided at about 26,000 each, with the Democrat having a 60-vote edge.
Depending on how you look at it, either the GOP stayed home, or the Trump base collapsed, or both. Either way, about 20,000 of those 47,000 Trump voters from 2024 were AWOL on Tuesday.
| MORE: Election results: Montgomery County votes Green over Blackburn for governor
2. Blackburn lost votes to Hatley
While Democrats can chalk up Green taking Montgomery County as a victory, Republicans also have an argument to make. Looking at precinct-by-precinct results, it appears that conservative independent David Hatley’s votes pulled from Blackburn’s camp, not Green’s.
For example, the precincts where Hatley had the best showing were Bethel Baptist at 13.5%, Cumberland Heights at 10.8%, and Fredonia at 10.8%. At those precincts, Blackburn had big support with 61%, 59% and 58%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the precincts where Hatley had the worst showing were West Creek at 3.8%, Glenellen at 4.6%, and the Airport at 4.7%. Those precincts were very strong for Green, with 64.6%, 59.1% and 70%, respectively.
Considering Hatley ran a conservative-message campaign, and seeing the swing of the voters in those precincts, Republicans could argue that, had Hatley not been on the ballot, Blackburn would have carried about 49% of the vote in Montgomery County. Not a majority, but just higher than Green’s 48.5% share.
| MORE: 4 highlights from Clarksville election: tight margins, flips, turnout shifts | ANALYSIS
3. What’s going on with local parties?
In Tuesday’s wake, local Democrats are touting a blue wave, praising strong organization, volunteer work and a shift to the left across Clarksville. That was reflected in the August county election results that led to a Democrat-controlled County Commission, and that state House District 75 flipped to Democrat Allie Phillips on Tuesday. For the first time in decades, Montgomery County will be sending two Democrats, not one, to the General Assembly.
The local Republican Party pointed to low turnout as the culprit.
“Republicans, we have to do better at getting our voters to the polls,” the local GOP said in a statement. “Presidential elections cannot be the only time we turn out in force. … We will live with this election’s consequences in Nashville and Washington over the next two years, and here in Clarksville over the next four. Congratulations to our winners. Now we get back to work.”
Several local Republicans were pointing fingers on social media about an apparent ongoing rift in the local party, one that’s caused breakdowns with organizing, volunteering and fundraising. As the local Democratic Party builds on its victories and rises in strength, the local GOP has some catching up – and likely some patching up – to do between now and the next election.
| MORE: ‘My door will always be open’: Phillips flips state House District 75 seat to Democrat
4. How Clarksville City Council will shift
The last couple of years have been difficult for Mayor Joe Pitts’ agenda, as he has tried to accomplish significant capital improvement projects – such as widening Trenton Road, finishing Spring Creek Parkway and building the Exit 8 sports complex – amid a financial crisis. His solution to try to raise property taxes by over 30% cost a lot politically.
The question now is, how will Mayor-elect Mark Riggins, who won a tight three-way race by 2.8 percentage points, navigate these challenges with a new council? Here’s how the council will shift, once the new members are sworn in, with the election winners in bold:
| Member | Current Council | Incoming Council |
|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Joe Pitts | Mark Riggins |
| Ward 1 | Brian Zacharias | Sabrena Gillespie |
| Ward 2 | Eric Claunch | Bill Cody |
| Ward 3 | Carlos Peters | Carlos Peters |
| Ward 4 | Tim Chandler | Tim Chandler |
| Ward 5 | Ambar Marquis | Ambar Marquis |
| Ward 6 | Wanda Smith | Charles Uffelman |
| Ward 7 | Travis Holleman | Christina Hardesty |
| Ward 8 | Jerry Haywood | Jerry Haywood |
| Ward 9 | Jimmy Brown | Jimmy Brown |
| Ward 10 | Stacey Streetman | Stacey Streetman |
| Ward 11 | Joe Shakeenab | Billy Lange |
| Ward 12 | Keri Lovato | Keri Lovato |
In addition to the mayor’s race, three of the council races were tight, one razor-thin:
- Streetman beat Chris Reneau by 136 votes, 2,664 to 2,528.
- Uffelman beat Justin Swallows by 39 votes, 832 to 793.
- Cody unseated Claunch by a margin of only 7 votes, 1,074 to 1,067.
That Ward 2 race should give everyone pause. Seven votes. Seven. That’s just a couple of households staying home, or switching their vote. If you think your vote doesn’t matter, think of what just happened in City Council Ward 2. It could have a significant impact on the future of the City of Clarksville.
| MORE: ‘Time to move Clarksville ahead, together’: Riggins wins tight mayor’s race