2026 forecast · Tennessee 8th

David Kustoff is favored to win Tennessee's 8th District.

Heidi Kuhn vs David Kustoff. The model has Kustoff ahead by 6.7 points, winning 82 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Likely RModel R +6.7Updated October 22, 2026
Heidi Kuhn
Democrat
45.5%
117,161 projected votes
David Kustoff
Republican
52.3%
134,477 projected votes
82%Kustoff
18%Kuhn
Kustoff favoredEach square is one simulated election night, Kustoff wins about 82 of 100
RatingLikely R82% chance for Kustoff
Model marginR +6.7No polls in the race
80 percent rangeD +2.5 to R +15.92,000 simulations
Projected votes257,386Kustoff 52.2%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Tennessee districts

9 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Heidi KuhnDemocrat · 18% to win
45.5%
David KustoffRepublican · 82% to win
52.3%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

257,386 votes
CandidateVotesShare
David Kustoff R134,47752.2%
Heidi Kuhn D117,16145.5%
Adam Austill I5,7482.2%
Total257,386100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%18% Kuhn82% Kustoff14 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Tennessee governor polling average
25%30%35%40%45%50%55%MayJunJulAugSepOct32.6Green43.8Blackburn
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
Spry StrategiesOct 16 · 635 LV · C+83%Blackburn +11.5
TargetSmart (D)Sep 12 · 600 LV · NR14%Blackburn +9.0
Targoz Market ResearchAug 26 · 1,149 RV · C+2.7%Blackburn +13.0

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageNo polls

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Kustoff +6.7
Chance of winning
Heidi Kuhn18%
David Kustoff82%
Simulated vote
Heidi Kuhn45.5%
David Kustoff52.3%
Adam Austill2.2%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanD +20.0
FundamentalsR +7.2
With pollsR +7.1
Early vote turnoutD +0.3
With early voteR +6.7

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Tennessee, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +24R +24Partisan leanthe state's baselineD +20.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesR +7.2With pollsno pollsR +7.1With early voteturnout so farR +6.7
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.