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No survivors in Tennessee plant explosion, sheriff says
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It is unclear how many people were inside the Tennessee plant that exploded on Friday, but at least 16 people were reported on Saturday. Sheriff Chris Davis announced that there are no survivors. Nicole Valdes reports.
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No Survivors Found After Tennessee Munitions Plant Blast, Authorities Say
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(Reuters) -Authorities have found no survivors after an explosion at a munitions factory in rural Tennessee on Friday, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told a press conference on Saturday.
The announcement comes after 18 people were missing and feared dead following the blast at Accurate Energetic Systems about 60 miles (100 km) west of Nashville.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Officials Investigate Blast at Tennessee Explosives Plant That Left 18 Missing and Feared Dead
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McEWEN, Tenn. (AP) — Officials were investigating a blast that leveled an explosives plant in rural Tennessee, as families of the 18 people missing and feared dead waited anxiously Saturday for answers.
The explosion Friday morning at Accurate Energetic Systems, which supplies and researches explosives for the military, scattered debris over at least a half-mile (800-meter) area and was felt by residents more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) away, said Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis.
Aerial footage showed the company’s hilltop location smoldering and smoky Friday, with just a mass of twisted metal, burned-out shells of cars and an array of debris left behind.
Davis, who described it as one of the worst scenes he’s ever seen, said multiple people were killed. But he declined to say how many, referring to the 18 missing as “souls” because officials were still speaking to family.
“What we need right now is we need our communities to come together and understand that we’ve lost a lot of people,” he said.
The company’s website says it processes explosives and ammunition at an eight-building facility that sprawls across wooded hills in the Bucksnort area, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Nashville. It’s not immediately known how many people work at the plant or how many were there when the explosion happened.
Davis said investigators are trying to determine what happened and couldn’t say what caused the explosion.
Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, said in a post on social media on Friday that their “thoughts and prayers” are with the families and community impacted.
“We extend our gratitude to all first responders who continue to work tirelessly under difficult conditions,” the post said.
The company has been awarded numerous military contracts, largely by the U.S. Army and Navy, to supply different types of munitions and explosives, according to public records. The products range from bulk explosives to landmines and small breaching charges, including C4.
When the explosion occurred, residents in Lobelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shake, and some people captured the loud boom of the explosion on their home cameras.
The blast rattled Gentry Stover from his sleep.
“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” he told The Associated Press. “I live very close to Accurate and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee posted on the social platform X that he is monitoring the situation and asked “Tennesseans to join us in prayer for the families impacted by this tragic incident.”
A small group gathered for a vigil Friday night at a nearby park, clutching candles as they prayed for the missing and their families and sang “Amazing Grace.”
The U.S. has a long history of deadly accidents at workplaces, including the Monongah coal mine explosion that killed 362 men and boys in West Virginia in 1907. Several high-profile industrial accidents in the 1960s helped lead President Richard Nixon to sign a law creating the Occupational Safety and Health Administration the next year.
In 2019, Accurate Energetic Systems faced several small fines from the U.S. Department of Labor for violations of policies meant to protect workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals, radiation and other irritants, according to citations from OSHA.
In 2014, an explosion occurred at another ammunition facility in the same small community, killing one person and injuring at least three others.
Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield, in Cockeysville, Maryland; Hannah Schoenbaum, in Salt Lake City; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, Rhode Island; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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19 people missing after Tennessee explosion rocks military explosives plant
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A powerful explosion ripped through a military explosives facility in Tennessee, leaving multiple people dead and 19 others missing, officials said. Nicole Valdes has the latest.
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19 people dead or missing after massive blast at Tennessee military explosive plant, officials say
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Nineteen people are dead or missing after a massive blast obliterated a building at a Tennessee explosives facility on Friday, authorities said — a “mass detonation” so significant that it rattled homes miles away.The early-morning explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, which manufactures military and demolitions explosives, left charred debris and mangled vehicles across a vast area. The blast was felt as far as 15 miles away and scattered debris over half a square mile.Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said there are fatalities, but did not want to declare a death toll yet — just that “we’re missing 19 souls.”“I always wish for the best,” Davis said. “Is there a possibility that somebody might be injured somewhere, or somebody that we don’t know about? Yes.”Davis described the aftermath of the explosion as “the most devastating scene that I’ve seen in my career.”“It’s hell,” Davis told reporters Friday evening. “It’s hell on us. It’s hell on everybody involved.”Video below: Aerial footage shows the extent of the damageWork at the explosion site will continue into the night, he said.“We’re working for our people, and we want to take care of our families,” an emotional Davis said. “I understand that some families get mad. I understand that some people get upset … We’re doing the very best we can to take care of this.”Davis said investigators from multiple agencies have been assisting with the response, but have not yet determined what caused the explosion. The FBI will be assisting.“Do I see a short-term explanation? No. Do I see us being here for many days? Yes, I do see that,” he said.Families of the victims were still being notified, said Davis, noting that people were undergoing a “gauntlet of emotions” as first responders continued to search the area. The tragedy hit close-knit communities.“I can tell you right off the top of my head that there’s three families that’s involved in this that I’m very close to,” Davis said. “When you have small counties like this, we know each other, we communicate with each other, we love each other.”The blast shook nearby homes and set off smaller explosions, local officials say.The explosion, which happened around 7:45 a.m. local time, was a “devastating blast,” but responders were able to secure the scene by late morning, Davis said.Three people with “minor injuries” from the explosion were treated at TriStar medical facilities in Dickson, Casey Stapp, the spokesperson for TriStar Health, said. Stapp said two people were released, and one person is still receiving treatment at an emergency room.Accurate Energetic Systems is located about an hour southwest of Nashville, Tennessee, on the Hickman and Humphreys County line, the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office told CNN.Numerous law enforcement resources from across the state of Tennessee have been dispatched to assist in the investigation, a source familiar told CNN. Those personnel include federal agents and the Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit, among other agencies. The relatively remote area is typically patrolled by smaller law enforcement departments, the person said, which has prompted other agencies to volunteer resources for support.Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates said the facility has about 80 employees, but it’s unclear how many were in the building when the explosion happened. Bates said one building on the site was completely destroyed.“It’s pretty devastating to see this,” Bates said.“It’s going to be an investigation that’s probably going to go on for days,” the mayor said. “This facility, they do manufacture, not only military, but demolition explosives for road work and things like that.”Tennessee state Sen. Kerry Roberts told CNN the facility sits on a 1,300-acre campus and is a beloved employer for many people in the community.He said it’s common to see employees at community events and people wearing baseball caps with the company name on them.“It is a well-loved company in the area,” Roberts said. “So this is going to have a devastating impact on quite a few families … it is heartbreaking.”Residents who live near the facility say they felt the impact of the explosion.“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” Gentry Stover told The Associated Press by phone. “I live very close to Accurate, and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”Cody Warren, who lives in Lobelville, which is 21 miles away from the facility, said the sound from the explosion woke him up, and he thought lightning struck his house.Accurate Energetic Systems specializes in making military explosives, according to the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office.The company’s Facebook page says it manufactures “various high explosive compositions and specialty products for the U.S. DoD and U.S. Industrial markets.”In April 2014, one person was killed and four others injured during a blast at the plant, CNN affiliate WSMV reported. The explosion, in the back of a building that housed shotgun ammunition, caused extensive damage. At the time, authorities said several companies operated on the Accurate Energetic Systems property but the blast happened in an area operated by Rio Ammunition.In the player below: Here is a look at what the plant looked like after the 2014 explosionLast month, the US Department of Defense awarded Accurate Energetic Systems a contract for nearly $120 million “for the procurement of TNT.”The Hickman County Sheriff’s Office is asking everyone to avoid the area as emergency responders do their work.
Nineteen people are dead or missing after a massive blast obliterated a building at a Tennessee explosives facility on Friday, authorities said — a “mass detonation” so significant that it rattled homes miles away.
The early-morning explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, which manufactures military and demolitions explosives, left charred debris and mangled vehicles across a vast area. The blast was felt as far as 15 miles away and scattered debris over half a square mile.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said there are fatalities, but did not want to declare a death toll yet — just that “we’re missing 19 souls.”
“I always wish for the best,” Davis said. “Is there a possibility that somebody might be injured somewhere, or somebody that we don’t know about? Yes.”
Davis described the aftermath of the explosion as “the most devastating scene that I’ve seen in my career.”
“It’s hell,” Davis told reporters Friday evening. “It’s hell on us. It’s hell on everybody involved.”
Video below: Aerial footage shows the extent of the damage
Work at the explosion site will continue into the night, he said.
“We’re working for our people, and we want to take care of our families,” an emotional Davis said. “I understand that some families get mad. I understand that some people get upset … We’re doing the very best we can to take care of this.”
Davis said investigators from multiple agencies have been assisting with the response, but have not yet determined what caused the explosion. The FBI will be assisting.
“Do I see a short-term explanation? No. Do I see us being here for many days? Yes, I do see that,” he said.
Families of the victims were still being notified, said Davis, noting that people were undergoing a “gauntlet of emotions” as first responders continued to search the area. The tragedy hit close-knit communities.
“I can tell you right off the top of my head that there’s three families that’s involved in this that I’m very close to,” Davis said. “When you have small counties like this, we know each other, we communicate with each other, we love each other.”
The blast shook nearby homes and set off smaller explosions, local officials say.
The explosion, which happened around 7:45 a.m. local time, was a “devastating blast,” but responders were able to secure the scene by late morning, Davis said.
Three people with “minor injuries” from the explosion were treated at TriStar medical facilities in Dickson, Casey Stapp, the spokesperson for TriStar Health, said. Stapp said two people were released, and one person is still receiving treatment at an emergency room.
Accurate Energetic Systems is located about an hour southwest of Nashville, Tennessee, on the Hickman and Humphreys County line, the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office told CNN.
Numerous law enforcement resources from across the state of Tennessee have been dispatched to assist in the investigation, a source familiar told CNN. Those personnel include federal agents and the Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit, among other agencies. The relatively remote area is typically patrolled by smaller law enforcement departments, the person said, which has prompted other agencies to volunteer resources for support.
Hickman County Mayor Jim Bates said the facility has about 80 employees, but it’s unclear how many were in the building when the explosion happened. Bates said one building on the site was completely destroyed.
“It’s pretty devastating to see this,” Bates said.
“It’s going to be an investigation that’s probably going to go on for days,” the mayor said. “This facility, they do manufacture, not only military, but demolition explosives for road work and things like that.”
Tennessee state Sen. Kerry Roberts told CNN the facility sits on a 1,300-acre campus and is a beloved employer for many people in the community.
He said it’s common to see employees at community events and people wearing baseball caps with the company name on them.
“It is a well-loved company in the area,” Roberts said. “So this is going to have a devastating impact on quite a few families … it is heartbreaking.”
Residents who live near the facility say they felt the impact of the explosion.
“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” Gentry Stover told The Associated Press by phone. “I live very close to Accurate, and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”
Cody Warren, who lives in Lobelville, which is 21 miles away from the facility, said the sound from the explosion woke him up, and he thought lightning struck his house.
Accurate Energetic Systems specializes in making military explosives, according to the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office.
The company’s Facebook page says it manufactures “various high explosive compositions and specialty products for the U.S. DoD and U.S. Industrial markets.”
In April 2014, one person was killed and four others injured during a blast at the plant, CNN affiliate WSMV reported. The explosion, in the back of a building that housed shotgun ammunition, caused extensive damage. At the time, authorities said several companies operated on the Accurate Energetic Systems property but the blast happened in an area operated by Rio Ammunition.
In the player below: Here is a look at what the plant looked like after the 2014 explosion
Last month, the US Department of Defense awarded Accurate Energetic Systems a contract for nearly $120 million “for the procurement of TNT.”
The Hickman County Sheriff’s Office is asking everyone to avoid the area as emergency responders do their work.
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Blast At A Tennessee Explosives Plant Leaves 19 People Missing And Feared Dead, Sheriff Says – KXL
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Smoke fills the air as debris covers the ground and vehicles after a powerful blast ripped through a military explosives manufacturing plant in Hickman County, Tenn., on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (WTVF-TV via AP)McEWEN, Tenn. (AP) — A blast that leveled an explosives plant Friday in rural Tennessee left 19 people missing and feared dead, authorities said.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said the blast at Accurate Energetic Systems, which supplies the military, was one of worst scenes he’s ever seen. He said multiple people were killed but declined to say how many, referring to the 19 missing as “souls” because officials were still speaking to family.
“There’s nothing to describe. It’s gone,” Davis said of the plant.
People reported hearing and feeling the explosion from miles away. The company’s website says it makes and tests explosives at an eight-building facility that sprawls across wooded hills in the Bucksnort area, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Nashville.
Davis said investigators are trying to determine what happened and couldn’t say what caused the explosion.
The cause of the explosion, which Davis called “devastating,” was not immediately known, and the investigation could take days, the sheriff said.
Aerial footage of the aftermath by WTVF-TV showed the explosion had apparently obliterated one of the facility’s hilltop buildings, leaving only smoldering wreckage and the burnt-out shells of vehicles.
There’s no further danger of explosions, and the scene was under control Friday afternoon, according to Grey Collier, a spokesperson for the Humphreys County Emergency Management Agency.
Emergency crews were initially unable to enter the plant because of continuing detonations, Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart said by phone. He didn’t have any details on casualties.
Accurate Energetic Systems, based in nearby McEwen, did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment Friday morning.
“This is a tragedy for our community,” McEwen Mayor Brad Rachford said in an email. He referred further comment to a county official.
Residents in Lobelville, a 20-minute drive from the scene, said they felt their homes shake and some people captured the loud boom of the explosion on their home cameras.
The blast rattled Gentry Stover from his sleep.
“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” he said by phone. “I live very close to Accurate and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”
State Rep. Jody Barrett, a Republican from the neighboring town of Dickson, was worried about the possible economic impact because the plant is a key employer in the area.
“We live probably 15 miles as the crow flies and we absolutely heard it at the house,” Barrett said. “It sounded like something going through the roof of our house.”
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Blast rips through military explosives facility in Tennessee, leaving multiple people dead and missing, sheriff says
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A powerful explosion ripped through a military explosives facility in Tennessee on Friday morning, leaving multiple people dead and missing, officials said. Video from the scene showed damaged vehicles and charred debris scattered around the area.
The Hickman County Sheriff’s Office said that there had been an explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems, a military explosives plant. Emergency services are responding, the office said.
At a news conference, Humphrey County Sheriff Chris Davis said there were several people unaccounted for and some confirmed deaths, but gave no specifics.
“We do have several people at this time unaccounted for. We are trying to be mindful of families and that situation,” Davis said. “We do have some that are deceased.”
Davis warned there could be continued small explosions at the site. Hickman County Advanced EMT David Stewart told the Associated Press that emergency crews initially couldn’t enter the plant because of continuing detonations.
CBS affiliate WTVF-TV in Nashville broadcast video of debris strewn about the site, with damaged vehicles in a parking lot.
The Associated Press reported that the blast rattled homes miles away. Gentry Stover, a nearby resident, told the AP that it woke him up.
“I thought the house had collapsed with me inside of it,” he said in a phone interview. “I live very close to Accurate and I realized about 30 seconds after I woke up that it had to have been that.”
Accurate Energetic Systems specializes in the development, manufacture, handling and storage of products and explosives for military, aerospace and commercial demolition markets, according to their website. The company is cooperating with law enforcement, Davis said.
The facility is on the border of Hickman and Humphreys County, about 60 miles southwest of Nashville.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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What to Know About National Guard Deployments in Memphis and Other Cities
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National Guard troops started patrolling in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday, even after judges stalled President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy troops to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in other states.
The troops, dressed in Guard fatigues and protective vests, with guns in their holsters, patrolled at a Bass Pro Shops store at the Pyramid, a Memphis landmark beside the Mississippi River. The patrols — part of Trump’s federal task force, were being escorted by a Memphis police officer.
The Associated Press saw at least nine Guard members on Friday, but it was unclear how many troops in total were on the ground in Memphis or were expected to arrive later.
A federal judge on Thursday blocked the deployment of troops in Chicago for at least two weeks, citing no significant evidence of a “danger of rebellion.”
Trump has insisted that crime in Chicago, Portland, Oregon, and other Democrat-led cities is rampant and that federal intervention is needed to bring them under control, despite statistics not always backing up his claims.
A separate court battle in Oregon has delayed a similar troop deployment to Portland.
Here’s where things stand:
Violent crime a problem in Memphis
Trump announced Sept. 15 that he intended to deploy the Guard to Memphis. At the time, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, embraced the plan as part of broader law enforcement operations in the city.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young, a Democrat who did not request the deployment, said he and other officials hope the task force will target violent offenders rather than scare, harass or intimidate residents.
The city has recorded a high rate of violent crime for years, including assaults, carjackings and homicides. While this year’s statistics show improvement in several categories, including murders, violence remains a problem.
Federal officials say agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, ICE and the U.S. Marshal’s service have made hundreds of arrests and issued more than 2,800 traffic citations since the task force began operating in Memphis on Sept. 29.
Illinois deployment blocked
Since the start of his second term, Trump has sent or discussed sending troops to many cities, including Portland; Baltimore; Memphis, Tennessee; the District of Columbia; New Orleans; and the California cities of Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
A legal challenge disrupted — for now — the Republican president’s troop deployment plan for Chicago.
U.S. District Judge April Perry in Chicago ruled Thursday that the Trump administration violated the 10th Amendment, which grants certain powers to states, and the 14th Amendment, which assures due process and equal protection, when he ordered National Guard troops to the city.
Perry said her order would expire Oct. 23 at 11:59 p.m. and set an Oct. 22 hearing by telephone to determine if the order should be extended for another 14 days.
State and city leaders celebrated the decision, including Gov. JB Pritzker, who said: “The court confirmed what we all know: There is no credible evidence of a rebellion in the state of Illinois. And no place for the National Guard in the streets of American cities like Chicago.”
Officials at U.S. Northern Command directed questions to the Department of Defense, which declined to comment because it is barred from commenting on ongoing litigation.
Troops arrive in Illinois and patrol outside Chicago
Guard members from Texas and Illinois arrived this week at a U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, southwest of Chicago. All 500 are under the U.S. Northern Command and have been activated for 60 days.
Judge restricts federal agents’ use of force
Also Thursday, another federal judge in Illinois temporarily ordered federal agents to wear badges and banned them from using certain riot control weapons against peaceful protesters and journalists outside the Broadview facility, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) west of Chicago.
Judge Sara Ellis’ preliminary injunction restricts agents’ use of force, including pepper balls, rubber bullets and physical force such as pulling, shoving or tackling on protesters and journalists who don’t pose a serious threat to law enforcement.
That order covers all of northern Illinois and also requires federal agents to wear “visible identification” such as badges, the subject of heated debate as viral footage has surfaced of masked, plainclothes officers involved in immigration enforcement in several U.S. cities.
A lawsuit filed by a coalition of news outlets, media associations and protesters accuses ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and Border Patrol of unleashing a campaign of violence and intimidation against peaceful protesters and journalists during weeks of protests outside the Broadview facility.
Associated Press reporters across the U.S. contributed, including Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; Sophia Tareen in Chicago; Jack Brook in New Orleans; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Josh Boak and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, D.C.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Deadly explosion rocks Tennessee plant leaving ‘several people unaccounted for’
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A Tennessee explosives manufacturing plant blew up Friday morning with “several people unaccounted for” and “some that are deceased,” authorities said.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis called the explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems a “very devastating blast” that “encompassed one whole building.”
“We do have several people at this time that’s unaccounted for,” Sheriff Davis told reporters. “We are trying to be mindful of families and that situation. We do have some folks. We can confirm that we do have some that are deceased.”
The plant, where the 7:45 a.m. CDT explosion happened, sits on the line of Humphreys and Hickman Counties. The scene is about 60 miles southwest of downtown Nashville.
“We can confirm there has been an explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems in the Bucksnort area,” the Hickman County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
“Emergency services are currently on the scene working to address the situation. Important:Please avoid the area to allow emergency responders to do their work. If you are in the area, stay clear and follow the instructions from local authorities.”
Accurate Energetic Systems, founded in 1980, said its business in McEwen is “dedicated to the development, manufacture, handling, and storage of high-quality energetic products utilized in both defense and commercial markets.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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Federal Court to Weigh Trump’s Deployment of National Guard Troops in Chicago Area
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President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in Illinois faces legal scrutiny Thursday at a pivotal court hearing that will occur the day after a small number of Guard troops started protecting federal property in the Chicago area.
U.S. District Judge April Perry will hear arguments over a request to block the deployment of Illinois and Texas Guard members. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and local officials strongly oppose use of the Guard.
An “element” of the 200 Texas Guard troops sent to Illinois started working in the Chicago area on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss operational details not been made public. The spokesperson did not say where specifically the troops were sent.
The troops, along with about 300 from Illinois, arrived this week at a U.S. Army Reserve Center in Elwood, southwest of Chicago. All 500 troops are under the Northern Command and have been activated for 60 days.
The Guard members are in the city to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement buildings and other federal facilities and law enforcement personnel, according to Northern Command. Trump earlier sent troops to Los Angeles and Washington, and a small number this week started assisting law enforcement in Memphis.
Those troops are part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, a collection of about a dozen federal law enforcement agencies ordered by Trump to fight crime in the city. Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee supports using the Guard.
The nearly 150-year-old Posse Comitatus Act limits the military’s role in enforcing domestic laws. However, Trump has said he would be willing to invoke the Insurrection Act, which allows a president to dispatch active duty military in states that are unable to put down an insurrection or are defying federal law.
Chicago and Illinois have filed a lawsuit to stop the deployments, calling them unnecessary and illegal. Trump, meanwhile, has portrayed Chicago as a lawless “hellhole” of crime, though statistics show a significant recent drop in crime.
The Republican president said Wednesday that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Pritzker, both Democrats, should be jailed for failing to protect federal agents during immigration enforcement crackdowns.
In a court filing in the lawsuit, the city and state say protests at a temporary ICE detention facility in the Chicago suburb of Broadview have “never come close to stopping federal immigration enforcement.”
“The President is using the Broadview protests as a pretext,” they wrote. “The impending federal troop deployment in Illinois is the latest episode in a broader campaign by the President’s administration to target jurisdictions the President dislikes.”
Also Thursday, a panel of judges in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was scheduled to hear arguments over whether Trump had the authority to take control of 200 Oregon National Guard troops. The president had planned to deploy them in Portland, where there have been mostly small nightly protests outside an ICE building. State and city leaders insist troops are neither wanted nor needed there.
U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut on Sunday granted Oregon and California a temporary restraining order blocking the deployment of Guard troops to Portland. Trump had mobilized California troops for Portland just hours after Immergut first blocked him from using Oregon’s Guard.
The administration has yet to appeal that order to the 9th Circuit.
Immergut, who Trump appointed during his first term, rejected the president’s assertions that troops were needed to protect Portland and immigration facilities, saying “it had been months since there was any sustained level of violent or disruptive protest activity in the city.”
Associated Press writers Gene Johnson in Seattle and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Trump-backed Matt Van Epps wins GOP primary in Tennessee House race
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Matt Van Epps is projected to win a crowded Republican primary Tuesday in the special election to replace a former Tennessee GOP congressman, according to the Associated Press.
Van Epps will face off in December against Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn, who is projected to win a four-way primary for the Democratic nomination.
Van Epps clinched the GOP victory following an endorsement from President Trump that came after in-person early voting ended. Eleven Republicans were on the ballot for the seat vacated by former Rep. Mark Green, who resigned over the summer due to “an opportunity in the private sector that was too exciting to pass up.” Among them, two candidates suspended their campaigns after Mr. Trump weighed in and joined the president in endorsing Van Epps.
George Walker IV / AP
“Thank you to the people of Middle and West Tennessee! Our Donald J. Trump-endorsed campaign won in a landslide tonight,” Van Epps said on social media. “Now, on to December 2nd! We’re going to win the general and keep this seat RED!”
If Republicans hold onto the seat, it would slightly expand their margin in the U.S. House, where the GOP holds a single-digit majority. The general election in December could also gauge the popularity of Mr. Trump’s second-term agenda, especially with Republican-leaning suburban voters in the Nashville area.
The 7th Congressional District spans 14 counties, bordering both Kentucky and Alabama. Along with parts of Nashville, it includes rural areas, wealthy suburbs and part of a military installment, Fort Campbell. The seat is one of three districts that GOP lawmakers drew as safely red in 2022 by dividing left-leaning Nashville. Its voters elected Green by 21 percentage points in 2024 and by nearly 22 points in 2022.
Of its nine seats in the House, Tennessee currently has one Democrat, Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis. Republican redistricting in 2022 allowed the GOP to flip another Democratic seat that was drawn to include only part of Nashville.
Van Epps previously served in several roles under Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. During the primary campaign, Van Epps leaned into his military experience, including as a Tennessee Army National Guard lieutenant colonel and as an Army Special Operations helicopter pilot. Among the competitors he defeated were state Reps. Jody Barrett and Gino Bulso.
Behn was is a social worker and community organizer who has focused on women’s reproductive health rights, including as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against a Tennessee law banning adults from helping minors get an abortion without parental permission. A judge has halted the provision’s enforcement.
Mr. Trump endorsed Van Epps in a Truth Social post late last week that praised him as an “America First Patriot.”
“A West Point Graduate, and Combat Decorated Army Helicopter Pilot, Matt knows the WISDOM and COURAGE required to Defend our Country, Support our Incredible Military/Veterans, and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” Mr. Trump wrote.
The nod from Mr. Trump followed Van Epps’ prior endorsements from Lee, Green and Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Outside groups spent more than $3.1 million on the race, almost all on the GOP side, with about $1.1 million opposing Barrett.
The Republican primary contenders praised Mr. Trump and expressed staunch opposition to anything perceived as liberal or “woke.” Meanwhile in the Democratic primary, the four candidates attacked the legislation Mr. Trump dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” in addition to his tariffs.
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Staffing Shortages Cause More US Flight Delays as Government Shutdown Reaches 7th Day
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Staffing shortages led to more flight delays at airports across the U.S. on Tuesday as the federal government shutdown stretched into a seventh day, while union leaders for air traffic controllers and airport security screeners warned the situation was likely to get worse.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported staffing issues at airports in Nashville, Boston, Dallas, Chicago and Philadelphia, and at its air traffic control centers in Atlanta, Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The agency temporarily slowed takeoffs of planes headed to the first three cities.
Flight disruptions a day earlier also were tied to insufficient staffing during the shutdown, which began Oct. 1. The FAA reported issues on Monday at the airports in Burbank, California; Newark, New Jersey; and Denver.
Despite the traffic snags, about 92% of the more than 23,600 flights departing from U.S. airports as of Tuesday afternoon took off on time, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
But the risk of wider impacts to the U.S. aviation system “is growing by the day” as federal workers whose jobs are deemed critical continue working without pay, travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said. The longer the shutdown drags on, the more likely it is to affect holiday travel plans in November, he said.
“I’m gravely concerned that if the government remains shut down then, that it could disrupt, and possibly ruin, millions of Americans’ Thanksgiving holidays,” Harteveldt said in a statement.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that there has already been an uptick in air traffic controllers calling out sick at a few locations. When there aren’t enough controllers, the FAA must reduce the number of takeoffs and landings to maintain safety, which in turn causes flight delays and possible cancellations.
That’s what happened Monday afternoon, when the control tower at Southern California’s Hollywood Burbank Airport shut down for several hours, leading to average delays of two-and-a-half hours.
When a pilot preparing for takeoff radioed the tower, according to communications recorded by LiveATC.net, he was told: “The tower is closed due to staffing.”
Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said the shutdown highlighted some issues his union’s members already face on a regular basis due to a national airspace system that is critically understaffed and relies on outdated equipment that tends to fail.
A couple of controllers missing work can have a big impact at a small airport already operating with limited tower staffing, he said.
“It’s not like we have other controllers that can suddenly come to that facility and staff them. There’s not enough people there,” Daniels said Tuesday. “There’s no overtime, and you have to be certified in that facility.”
Air travel complications are likely to expand once a regularly scheduled payday arrives next week and air traffic controllers and TSA officers don’t receive any money, the union leader said. If the impasse between Republican and Democratic lawmakers on reopening the government persists, the workers will come under more pressure as their personal bills come due, Daniels said.
“It’s completely unfair that an air traffic controller is the one that holds the burden of ‘see how long you can hang in there in order to allow this political process to play out,’” he said.
Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees chapter that represents TSA workers, said he was hearing concerns from members about how they will be able to pay bills, including child support and mortgage payments, and if they’re at risk for termination if they have to miss work during the shutdown.
“The employees are struggling. They’re assessing what they need to do and they’re assessing how this is all going to work out,” said Jones, who has worked as a screener since the TSA was established.
Some TSA officers already have called in sick, but Jones said he did not think the numbers were big enough to cause significant problems and delays at airports.
Aviation unions and U.S. airlines have called for the shutdown to end as soon as possible.
The unions are also making appeals to food banks, grocery chains and airports to secure support for workers during the shutdown. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was offering federal workers $15 food vouchers and allowing them to park in the terminal, according to Jones.
John Tiliacos, the chief operating officer of Florida‘s Tampa International Airport, said the facility started preparing for the shutdown well before it began.
Nicknamed “Operation Bald Eagle 2” among airport staff, the efforts center around pulling together resources for the roughly 11,000 federal employees who are working at the airport without pay, including security screeners and air traffic controllers.
Tiliacos said the help would include a food pantry, free bus rides to work and a program with the local utility provider to keep the lights on at the homes of the workers.
“Whatever we can do to make life a little easier for these federal employees that allows them to continue coming to work and focus on keeping our airport operational, that’s what we’re prepared to do,” he said.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Tennessee alcohol wholesalers are grabbing control of the state’s hemp market
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Few things are more difficult to eradicate in our system of modern governance than a government-sanctioned monopoly or oligopoly. A recently passed bill in Tennessee, which will allow the state’s alcohol wholesalers to take over hemp distribution in the state, shows that these monopolies are not only difficult to eliminate but also often attempt to expand their reach.
The new law sets up a distribution system for hemp—which was legalized at the federal level in the 2018 Farm Bill—that mirrors the notorious three-tier system for alcohol distribution, which requires producers, wholesalers, and retailers to be legally separate entities. The three-tier system restricts producers and suppliers from selling directly to their customers and mandates that they work through a wholesaler to reach the market. This allows wholesalers to operate as functional monopolies or oligopolies in certain parts of states where only one or two wholesalers operate.
The law, which takes effect on January 1, 2026, also requires all wholesalers and retailers of hemp products to maintain a physical presence within the state. Out-of-state hemp suppliers will be prohibited from engaging in direct-to-consumer shipping to customers in Tennessee, and instead will be forced to work through the state’s wholesaler and retailer tiers. While in-state Tennessee hemp suppliers cannot ship their products to Tennesseans either, they are able to sell on-site directly to their customers, providing a workaround to avoid the three-tier system.
Cornbread Hemp, a Kentucky hemp supplier that recorded $1 million in Tennessee-based sales last year, is challenging the new law in federal court. Cornbread Hemp argues that Tennessee’s law unconstitutionally discriminates against out-of-state competitors in favor of in-state businesses, which is a violation of the Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause.
Supreme Court observers will recognize how closely the case mirrors Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas (2019). In the case, the majority struck down Tennessee’s requirement that applicants for alcohol wholesaling or retailing licenses must have resided in the state for over two years, finding it to be unconstitutional discrimination against out-of-state economic interests.
Tennessee’s constitutional rationale for residency requirements in the hemp context is even weaker than with alcohol. The main constitutional defense in support of residency requirements for alcohol is that the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition, devolved alcohol regulation back down to the state and local level. States, therefore, argue that the Constitution’s recognition of state power in the alcohol arena should inoculate residency clauses from Dormant Commerce Clause challenges. While some lower courts have continued to buy this argument, the Supreme Court has refused to go along in recent decades.
As liquor attorney Sean O’Leary notes, the 21st Amendment allows a discriminatory state law in the alcohol context to face a lower level of constitutional scrutiny than a non-alcohol law. The argument essentially boils down to: Alcohol is uniquely treated under the U.S. Constitution. Hemp has no corollary to the 21st Amendment, meaning a discriminatory hemp law will face a higher level of constitutional scrutiny.
Now alcohol wholesalers—already a government-sanctioned oligopoly or monopoly in many locales—are trying to expand their control beyond alcohol. The new law makes this power grab particularly blatant, since it moves hemp from under the purview of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
In fact, this change was made “at the behest of the wholesaler lobby,” O’Leary notes. “The wholesaler’s goal is to mandate a three-tier system where they get a piece of the action.” He predicts that, given the power of the alcohol wholesaler lobby in state capitals across America, more state legislatures will be following Tennessee’s lead.
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Trump Is Reviving Large Sales of Coal From Public Lands. Will Anyone Want It?
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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials in the coming days are set to hold the government’s biggest coal sales in more than a decade, offering 600 million tons from publicly owned reserves next to strip mines in Montana and Wyoming.
The sales are a signature piece of President Donald Trump’s ambitions for companies to dig more coal from federal lands and burn it for electricity. Yet most power plants served by those mines plan to quit burning coal altogether within 10 years, an Associated Press data analysis shows.
Three other mines poised for expansions or new leases under Trump also face declining demand as power plants use less of their coal and in some cases shut down, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the nonprofit Global Energy Monitor.
Those market realities raise a fundamental question about the Republican administration’s push to revive a heavily polluting industry that long has been in decline: Who’s going to buy all that coal?
The question looms over the administration’s enthusiastic embrace of coal, a leading contributor to climate change. It also shows the uncertainty inherent in inserting those policies into markets where energy-producing customers make long-term decisions with massive implications, not just for their own viability but for the future of the planet, in an ever-shifting political landscape.
Rushing to approve projects
The upcoming lease sales in Montana and Wyoming are in the Powder River Basin, home to the most productive U.S. coal fields.
Officials say they will go forward beginning Monday despite the government shutdown. The administration exempted from furlough those workers who process fossil fuel permits and leases.
Democratic President Joe Biden last year acted to block future coal leases in the region, citing their potential to make climate change worse. Burning the coal from the two leases being sold in coming days would generate more than 1 billion tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide, according to a Department of Energy formula.
Trump rejected climate change as a “con job” during a Sept. 23 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, an assessment that puts him at odds with scientists. He praised coal as “beautiful” and boasted about the abundance of U.S. supplies while deriding solar and wind power. Administration officials said Wednesday that they were canceling $8 billion in grants for clean energy projects in 16 states won by Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
In response to an order from Trump on his first day in office in January, coal lease sales that had been shelved or stalled were revived and rushed to approval, with considerations of greenhouse gas emissions dismissed. Administration officials have advanced coal mine expansions and lease sales in Utah, North Dakota, Tennessee and Alabama, in addition to Montana and Wyoming.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Monday that the administration is opening more than 20,000 square miles (52,000 square kilometers) of federal lands to mining. That is an area bigger than New Hampshire and Vermont combined.
The administration also sharply reduced royalty rates for coal from federal lands, ordered a coal-fired power plant in Michigan to stay open past planned retirement dates and pledged $625 million to recommission or modernize coal plants amid growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence and data centers.
“We’re putting American miners back to work,” Burgum said, flanked by coal miners and Republican politicians. “We’ve got a demand curve coming at us in terms of the demand for electricity that is literally going through the roof.”
The AP’s finding that power plants served by mines on public lands are burning less coal reflects an industrywide decline that began in 2007.
Energy experts and economists were not surprised. They expressed doubt that coal would ever reclaim dominance in the power sector. Interior Department officials did not respond to questions about future demand for coal from public lands.
But it will take time for more electricity from planned natural gas and solar projects to come online. That means Trump’s actions could give a short-term bump to coal, said Umed Paliwal, an expert in electricity markets at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
“Eventually coal will get pushed out of the market,” Paliwal said. “The economics will just eat the coal generation over time.”
The coal sales in Montana and Wyoming were requested by Navajo Nation-owned company. The Navajo Transitional Energy Co. (NTEC) has been one of the largest industry players since buying several major mines in the Powder River Basin during a 2019 bankruptcy auction. Those mines supply 34 power plants in 19 states.
Twenty-one of the plants are scheduled to stop burning coal in the next decade. They include all five plants using coal from NTEC’s Spring Creek mine in Montana.
In filings with federal officials, the company said the fair market value of 167 million tons of federal coal next to the Spring Creek mine was just over $126,000.
That is less than one-tenth of a penny per ton, a fraction of what coal brought in its heyday. By comparison, the last large-scale lease sale in the Powder River Basin, also for 167 million tons of coal, drew a bid of $35 million in 2013. Federal officials rejected that as too low.
NTEC said the low value was supported by prior government reviews predicting fewer buyers for coal. The company said taxpayers would benefit in future years from royalties on any coal mined.
“The market for coal will decline significantly over the next two decades. There are fewer coal mines expanding their reserves, there are fewer buyers of thermal coal and there are more regulatory constraints,” the company said.
In central Wyoming on Wednesday, the government will sell 440 million tons of coal next to NTEC’s Antelope Mine. Just over half of the 29 power plants served by the mine are scheduled to stop burning coal by 2035.
Among them is the Rawhide plant in northern Colorado. It is due to quit coal in 2029 but will keep making electricity with natural gas and 30 megawatts of solar panels.
Aging plants and optimism
The largest U.S. coal company has offered a more optimistic take on coal’s future. Because new nuclear and gas plants are years away, Peabody Energy suggested in September that demand for coal in the U.S. could increase 250 million tons annually — up almost 50% from current volumes.
Peabody’s projection was based on the premise that existing power plants can burn more coal. That amount, known as plant capacity, dropped by about half in recent years.
“U.S. coal is clearly in comeback mode,” Peabody’s president, James Grech, said in a recent conference call with analysts. “The U.S. has more energy in its coal reserves than any nation has in any one energy source.”
No large coal power plants have come online in the U.S. since 2013. Most existing plants are 40 years old or older. Money pledged by the administration to refurbish older plants will not go very far given that a single boiler component at a plant can cost $25 million to replace, said Nikhil Kumar with GridLab, an energy consulting group.
That leads back to the question of who will buy the coal.
“I don’t see where you get all this coal consumed at remaining facilities,” Kumar said.
Gruver reported from Wellington, Colorado. Associated Press writer Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Kilmar Abrego May Have Been Vindictively Prosecuted by Trump Administration, US Judge Finds
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(Reuters) -A federal judge ruled on Friday there was a realistic likelihood that the criminal charges the U.S. Department of Justice brought against Kilmar Abrego, the alleged gang member who was wrongly deported by President Donald Trump’s administration to El Salvador, amounted to a vindictive prosecution.
U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville, Tennessee, cited statements administration officials made celebrating the charges brought against Abrego as evidence the indictment may have been pursued in retaliation for a lawsuit he brought in Maryland challenging his wrongful deportation.
Crenshaw pointed to “remarkable statements” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche made on Fox News that prosecutors started investigating Abrego after a judge in Maryland questioned his removal and found the government “had no right to deport him.”
Blanche during the June 6 interview said Abrego was not returned to the United States “for any other reason than to face justice.”
Crenshaw said those statements could directly establish that the motivations for Abrego’s charges stem from the exercise of his rights to bring suit against the administration over his deportation, “rather than a genuine desire to prosecute him for alleged criminal misconduct.”
Federal law allows for the dismissal of criminal charges if a judge determines they were brought to punish someone for exercising their due process rights. Such requests rarely succeed.
But Crenshaw, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, said Abrego had carried his burden of showing he was likely vindictively prosecuted. He said Abrego was entitled to obtain further evidence from the government and have a hearing to decide whether the case should be dismissed.
Representatives for Abrego and the Justice Department declined to comment.
Abrego, a native of El Salvador who had been living in Maryland, was deported and imprisoned in El Salvador in March despite a 2019 judicial ruling that he could not be sent there because of a risk of gang persecution.
Abrego challenged that deportation in a civil lawsuit before a federal judge in Maryland. The U.S. Supreme Court in April upheld an order from the Maryland judge that the Trump administration facilitate Abrego’s return.
In June, Abrego was returned to the U.S. after prosecutors secured an indictment in Tennessee accusing him of transporting migrants in the U.S. illegally as part of a smuggling ring. Abrego has pleaded not guilty and has disputed that he was a gang member.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Trump Wants to Cut Federal Aid to Portland as His Anger With Protesters Grows
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump has directed his team to review federal aid to Portland, Oregon, that can be cut as his anger with the city’s anti-government and anti-fascism protesters mounts, the White House said on Friday.
“We will not fund states that allow anarchy,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters. She gave no details about what funds Trump, a Republican, might try to block.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly use threats of withholding federal funding, which is mandated by Congress, to punish those he views as his political opponents, including Democrats in state and local government and elite universities, which he views as overrun by Marxists.
The streets of downtown Portland, the largest city in Oregon, have been filled sporadically in the last few years with left-wing protesters, most recently focused on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents carrying out Trump’s plan to arrest and deport more migrants.
Leavitt also said she was dismayed that a conservative independent journalist was among three people arrested by Portland police at a demonstration outside ICE’s offices.
“This incident is part of a troubling trend for Portland, where left-wing mobs believe they get to decide who can visit and live in their city,” Leavitt told reporters. “It is not their city, it is the American people’s city.”
Police said the journalist Nicholas Sortor was arrested along with two others for fighting at the protest and charged with disorderly conduct. Video showed Sortor arguing with protesters and he said on Friday he had acted in self-defense.
Leavitt said she had spoken with Sortor and that the U.S. Department of Justice’s civil rights division was examining whether Sortor was a victim of “viewpoint discrimination” by Portland police.
Last week, Trump said he considered the city’s anti-fascism protesters, sometimes referred to as “antifa,” to be “domestic terrorists” and that he was sending soldiers there to protect ICE agents and facilities. This week, he said he was taking control of the Oregon National Guard, the state’s militia.
Spokespeople for Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, both Democrats, did not respond to requests for comment.
In response to the arrest of Sortor, the Portland Police Bureau said in a statement it enforced the law impartially.
“As with all such situations, arrests are based on observed behavior and probable cause — not political affiliation or public profile,” the police statement said.
Wilson and other leaders in Oregon have denounced efforts to militarize policing in Portland and say Trump is violating the U.S. Constitution.
As with other states, most federal aid to Oregon helps fund healthcare, education and transportation infrastructure.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery; Additional reporting by Jonathan Allen; Writing by Katharine Jackson and Jonathan Allen; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Cynthia Osterman)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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AP Decision Notes: What to Expect in Tennessee’s Special Congressional Election
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WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a dozen candidates will compete for their parties’ nominations Tuesday to fill a vacant Tennessee congressional seat in the closely divided U.S. House.
The winners will face off in a Dec. 2 special election to replace Republican former U.S. Rep. Mark Green, who resigned in July to work in the private sector. The contest in the state’s reliably Republican 7th Congressional District will likely temporarily pad the House GOP’s narrow advantage in the chamber. A vacant seat in a heavily Democratic Houston-area district in Texas will be filled in November.
Among the 11 candidates seeking the Republican nomination are state Reps. Jody Barrett, Gino Bulso and Lee Reeves, former Tennessee Department of General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps, who has Green’s endorsement, and Montgomery County Commissioner Jason Knight. The field also includes health care industry businessman Mason Foley; real estate businessman Stewart Parks, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump for his actions at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; and former state Senate policy analyst Tres Wittum, who previously lost GOP primaries against U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn in 2024 and U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles in 2022.
State Reps. Aftyn Behn, Vincent Dixie and Bo Mitchell and businessman Darden Copeland seek the Democratic nomination.
Van Epps led the Republican field in campaign contributions, with about $359,000 raised through mid-September. Reeves and Parks raised close to $270,000 each and Barrett nearly $242,000. Still, Van Epps was outspent by much of the field thanks to large loans several candidates made to their own campaigns. Bulso loaned nearly $494,000 to his campaign. Foley loaned his campaign $325,000, while Reeves loaned $300,000 to his committee and Parks loaned $67,000 to his.
Copeland raised the most in the Democratic contest, with about $335,000 in contributions and $100,000 loaned from the candidate. He had the bulk of his haul available to spend as of Sept. 17. By that point, Mitchell had raised about $203,000 for his campaign and had less than half of it remaining available to spend as the campaign entered its final stretch.
Most of the 7th District has elected only Republicans to Congress for more than a dozen years. The district also includes parts of heavily Democratic Davidson County, which is home to Nashville. The Nashville area once anchored a separate congressional district favorable to Democrats, but state Republicans redrew the lines in 2022 and divided Davidson County among the 7th and two neighboring Republican-friendly districts.
Trump carried the 7th District in 2024 with about 60% of the vote, compared with about 38% for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee. Harris received nearly 68% of the vote in the 7th District’s portion of Davidson County, which comprised about 22% of the total district vote. Trump carried each of the remaining 13 counties with at least 59% of the vote.
Montgomery County made up about 24% of the district vote in the 2024 presidential race, the largest share of any county in the district.
Green was elected twice each under the old and new district boundaries. Under the old lines, he received between 67% and 70% of the vote. He won with 60% of the vote under the current lines in 2022 and 2024. He never ran in a competitive primary under the current boundaries.
The Associated Press does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
In Tennessee, recounts are held only as part of a legal challenge in the courts. There are no automatic recounts, and losing candidates may not request recounts. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
Here’s a look at what to expect Tuesday:
The special primary in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District will be held Tuesday. Polls in the district close at 7 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. ET. Although Tennessee is located in two time zones, the 7th District falls entirely within the Central time zone.
The AP will provide vote results and declare a winner in the special congressional primary.
Tennessee does not register voters by party, which in other states usually means that any registered voter may choose to vote in any party’s primary. A rarely enforced 1972 law says primary voters must be “affiliated with” or a “bona fide” member of a party to vote in that party’s primary, and a 2023 law requires local elections officials to post signs at polling places saying so. But those terms aren’t clearly defined. The law faced multiple legal challenges, but a federal court dismissed the complaint in 2024.
What do turnout and advance vote look like?
There were more than 469,000 registered voters in the 7th Congressional District in the August 2024 state primary. Turnout was about 7% of registered voters in the Republican U.S. House primary and about 5% in the Democratic primary. Both primaries were uncontested.
Among the 14 counties located either entirely or partly within the 7th District, about 58% of 2024 primary ballots were cast early by in-person or absentee voters.
As of Wednesday, nearly 15,000 Democratic primary ballots and nearly 16,000 Republican primary ballots had been cast before the special primary.
How long does vote-counting usually take?
In the 2024 general election, the AP first reported 7th District results at 8:03 p.m. ET from Perry County, three minutes after polls closed. The election night tabulation ended at 12:36 a.m. ET with more than 99% of total votes counted.
As of Tuesday, there will be 56 days until the Dec. 2 special election in the 7th District and 392 days until the 2026 midterm elections.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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