Tennessee Democratic Nominee for Governor Will Debate Two of her Independent Opponents

On October 27, Tennessee Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jerri Green will debate two of her independent opponents, David Hatley and Lauren Pinkston. The Republican nominee, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, will not participate. There are 15 candidates on the ballot for Governor, including 13 independents. Tennessee normally has lots of independent candidates for Governor and U.S. Senator because only 25 signatures are needed, and no filing fee.

Hatley says he will donate $1,000,000 to certain charities of Senator Blackburn will participate.

No debates are set for Tennessee’s U.S. Senate race.

North Carolina Democrats Regain Registration Lead Over Republicans, but Louisiana Republicans Gain Registration Lead for First Time

At the October 10, 2026 registration tally, North Carolina has more registered Democrats than registered Republicans. North Carolina had always had more registered Democrats than registered Republicans until the January 10, 2026 tally, when Republicans outnumbered Democrats for the first time.

Counterbalancing that, Louisiana now has more registered Republicans than registered Democrats, effective with the July 1, 2026 tally. Before that tally, Louisiana had always had more registered Democrats than registered Republicans.

Most states in the south don’t have registration by party, and have open primaries. Among the states that seceded from the union in the 1860’s, the only other state with partisan registration is Florida, which has had more registered Republicans than registered Democrats for many years. Also, Arkansas does allow voters to choose a party on voter registration forms, but the choice has no practical consequences whatsoever, and the vast majority of Arkansas voters have no registration into a party. For those few voters that do choose, Republicans outnumber Democrats.

South Carolina Holds Three-Party Debate for U.S. Senate

On the evening of Sunday, October 11, a televised debate will be held for three of the foour U.S. Senate candidates in South Carolina. They are the nominees of the Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian Parties. See this brief story.

UPDATE: the news story has been altered, and now no longer mentions that the Constitution Party nominee will be in the debate.