Shelby County voters begin casting ballots in the last election of 2018 Wednesday, Oct. 17, as early voting opens before the Nov. 6 election day. The 27 early voting sites across Shelby County are all open from Wednesday through Nov. 1. The midterm general election cycle typically sees a higher turnout than the August county general and state and federal primary elections.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee didn’t exactly shock anyone by saying he would fight legislative efforts to legalize sports gambling in Tennessee.

Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, newly appointed to a U.S. District Court judgeship, confirmed Tuesday he won’t be able to resign his legislative seat before the Nov. 6 election, a situation that will lead to a special election for the District 32 seat and potential temporary replacement.

The U.S. Senate race between former Gov. Phil Bredesen and U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn is deadlocked, according to an internal Bredesen poll, even though outside groups are spending heavily against the former Tennessee governor.

Shelby County’s elections administrator is guaranteeing her office will process some 33,000 new voter-registration applications before early voting starts Wednesday, after being queried by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean says he would support legislation to legalize sports betting in Tennessee, but Republican candidate Bill Lee doesn’t want to gamble on it.

Greater Memphis Chamber chairman Richard Smith says the organization welcomes input from local elected officials on the process of replacing its president and CEO, but the Chamber does not need to make it a public process.

Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn’s partisan attacks appear to be trumping former governor Phil Bredesen’s moderate politics as early voting approaches for the Nov. 6 election for an open U.S. Senate seat.

Set for their final gubernatorial debate Friday night in Nashville, Republican candidate Bill Lee and Democratic candidate Karl Dean released fundraising figures showing Lee with a major edge going into the final three weeks of the campaign.

Tennessee state Senate Republican leader Mark Norris of Collierville was confirmed Thursday, Oct. 11, as a federal judge for the Western District of Tennessee.

The Shelby County Democratic Party is defending District 31 Senate candidate Gabby Salinas against an attack ad by the lieutenant governor’s PAC, calling it “false” and a “mischaracterization.”

Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn committed to spending tens of billions of dollars on constructing a wall at the Southern border, while former governor Phil Bredesen called such an idea antiquated Wednesday night.

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn kept up her relentless attack on former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen in their final debate Wednesday night, accusing him of running a governor’s office soft on sexual harassment.

The Tennessee House Democratic Caucus is challenging Shelby County Schools, accusing the system of stonewalling on an open records request to keep it from finding out how many meetings Republican board member Scott McCormick failed to attend.

Memphis is about a nine-hour drive from Kingsport, but the city’s major topics were still on the minds of Tennessee’s two top gubernatorial candidates in the second gubernatorial debate, an East Tennessee event in which they sparred a bit for the first time.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Congressman Marsha Blackburn must have been sitting back laughing as she pounded former Gov. Phil Bredesen for postponing his stance on the Kavanaugh nomination.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally’s PAC is pouring $300,000 into an ad campaign against Democratic Senate candidate Gabby Salinas, signaling a tight race for incumbent Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey in Memphis’ District 31. 

A Memphis legislator is castigating Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dorsey Hopson’s decision to endorse Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee, saying it “confuses” a tough situation.

Tennessee’s two main gubernatorial candidates disagree with the Legislature’s move to strip funding from Memphis this year and punish the city for its role in removing Confederate monuments from parks.

U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Phil Bredesen – in a long-awaited response – said Friday, Oct. 5, he would vote for Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court even amid sexual assault allegations against the judge.

Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald is among Republican leaders balking at a nonpartisan West Tennessee Economic Development Caucus event for two Democratic statewide candidates in Jackson.

Randy Boyd probably knows the age-old sermon about reaping what you sow by heart.

Tennessee’s gubernatorial candidates say they will make education the focal point of their administration, but they have vastly different views on how to do it.

Memphis might not have legalized gambling like neighboring states, but Democratic gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean says he’s willing to “bet” on a bright outlook here.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Karl Dean and Republican Bill Lee drew distinctions on the question of automatic TBI investigations into police-involved shootings in their first debate Tuesday at the University of Memphis.