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As a news organization that exclusively covers politics and policy, the staff of the Tennessee Lookout lives for Election Days like Thursday’s primary. To use a sports analogy, it’s not quite the Super Bowl — that comes on the Nov. 5 federal election — but it’s at least the AFC and NFC championship games. 

We’ll give you the lowdown on top of the ticket races, like the four-way Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate and the only contested congressional primary, the race between well-funded Metro Councilmember Courtney Johnston and first-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles. 

Even for a statewide news outlet like the Lookout, covering every down-ballot race — 23 contested state House races and eight contested Senate races — is impossible. So we’ll be looking at the most competitive of each and the issues influencing the election. 

We’d like to share our game plan for covering the election with you, and give you an overview of what you can expect from us. 

School vouchers

After Gov. Bill Lee’s universal private school voucher plan failed during the last legislative session, he announced he would try again in the upcoming session. As Adam Friedman has reported, several national pro-voucher organizations have spent millions in “dark money” — the groups use a governing structure that allows them to hide who many of their donors are — to back incumbents and candidates favorable to vouchers. 

Gov. Bill Lee

Lee has endorsed a host of pro-voucher incumbents and candidates, but the outcome of those races will be as much of a referendum on Lee as on vouchers. 

Of particular note is the House 65 race, Lee’s home district in Williamson County. The governor has endorsed political newcomer Lee Reeves, who favors vouchers and has received nearly $1 million in outside support from voucher groups. Williamson County has the best public school system in the state, a reason many families live there. 

Brian Beathard, a four-term county commissioner backed by retiring Rep. Sam Whitson and a host of other Republican elected officials, has been less than full-throated in his views on vouchers, but a win by Beathard would be a loss for Lee’s credibility. 

Hot Senate races

Gallatin Sen. Ferrell Haile is leaning into conservative talking points as he tries to beat back a challenge from Chris Spencer, co-founder of the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans. Haile’s ads highlight immigration issues, which have little practical impact on Tennessee voters but appeal to the Republican base. 

All political eyes are on the East Tennessee matchup between Sen. Jon Lundberg and first-time candidate Bobby Harshbarger, nephew of 1st District U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, a Trump loyalist. The issue doesn’t appear to be school vouchers: Lundberg negotiated the Senate version of Lee’s plan. 

The Lundberg-Harshbarger race has been one of the most hostile of the election cycle. 

Meanwhile, in House races . . .

One of the more interesting primaries on the House side is the contest between GOP Rep. Patsy Hazlewood of Signal Mountain and challenger Michelle Reneau, a Constitutional Republican. 

Democrats also have a few primaries in play, including the race in Memphis to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Dwayne Thompson in District 96. Gabby Salinas, who lost to former Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey by about 1%, has been endorsed by Thompson. But in a five-way, low turnout primary, she’s not a shoo-in. 

• Nashville’s House District 60 features a match-up between Shaundelle Brooks, a longtime gun safety advocate who came to politics after her son was murdered in a 2018 mass shooting at Nashville Waffle House, and neighborhood activist Tyler Brasher. The race has engendered bad blood between supporters of both candidates, as accusations of racism have been thrown — Brooks is Black — and questions raised about financial disclosures. 

• In Knoxville, Rep. Sam McKenzie, chair of the Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators, will try to beat back a challenge from former Knox County Commissioner Dasha Lundy, who has received support from school voucher organizations.

Of course, there are other races we’ll cover. While we can’t get to them all, we promise to do our best to bring you fast and accurate coverage on the winners that will shape Tennessee policy over the next few years. 

See you on Election Day.

Former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, now a consultant for the Cleveland Browns, said Tuesday that “nothing surprised me” about his exit from the Titans organization following last season.

Vrabel was fired on Jan. 9 following six seasons as Titans coach, including three playoff appearances. Tennessee had a losing record in Vrabel’s final two seasons, including a 6-11 mark in 2023.

“This is my 25th NFL training camp, so I would say that nothing surprises me in the NFL,” Vrabel said during a media availability in Cleveland about his exit from the Titans. “That’s part of the job. I think it’s disappointing. I think you’re disappointed that you couldn’t do the job the way that they wanted it or they envisioned it.”

Vrabel was reportedly interviewed by at least three NFL teams with head coaching openings, including the Chargers, Falcons and Panthers. But those teams hired someone else, leaving Vrabel to wait for January 2025 for the next round of NFL head coaching openings.

“There’s 32 flavors in this league, and everybody does it a little differently,” Vrabel said. “So, it’s been fun to be a part of (the Browns) and try to help where I can and most especially learn.”

FROM TITANS CAMP: Will Levis stats: Every pass Tennessee Titans quarterback threw at Wednesday practice

COOLER HEADS PREVAIL: What Tennessee Titans’ Jeffery Simmons said about confrontation with Buck Reising

Vrabel is assisting with coaching tight ends during training camp but won’t have a gameday role during the regular season. Vrabel, from Akron, was hired by Cleveland as a consultant working with the coaching and personnel staffs, returning to his home state.

Vrabel and Browns backup quarterback Jameis Winston have undertaken a routine during training camp, a sprint race between the two after a set of reps.

2018: 9-7 record, finished 3rd in AFC South

2019: 9-7 record, finished 2nd in AFC South and earned wild card berth; won at Patriots in AFC Wild Card round, won at Ravens in AFC Divisional round, lost at Chiefs in AFC Championship Game

2020: 11-5 record, won AFC South; lost to Ravens in AFC Wild Card round

2021: 12-5 record, won AFC South and No. 1 seed in AFC; lost to Bengals in AFC Divisional round

2022: 7-10 record, finished 2nd in AFC South

2023: 6-11 record, finished 4th in AFC South

The Tennessee Titans put on pads for the first time in training camp on Tuesday and it resulted in a fight or two between the offense and defense, mainly between star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and rookie offensive tackle JC Latham.

Coach Brian Callahan addressed the fighting after practice and what he wants to do about it moving forward.

“It was the first day of pads, guys are cranked up,” Callahan said via AtoZ Sports. “They understand what it is. We reined it back in and we had no problems after that. I don’t anticipate it being an issue. Fighting is not something we want to accept, it’s not part of the rules of the game. I’ve explained that before and I’ll explain it again. It’s training camp, the first day of pads, [Jeffery Simmons] is trying to set a tone. Those things don’t bother me so much as long as we know we’ve got to play within the rules and we’ve got to protect our teammates, and I think we’ve got it figured out after that.

“It is what it is, it’s football. I don’t mind guys setting the tone with the intensity ramped-up and we’ve just got to understand that we can play to the edge and we can still play within the rules. And fighting is a penalty, it’s usually an ejection, it hurts our team, we can’t have that.”

Callahan believes that the Titans will be able to move past the fighting from Tuesday’s practices. However, this is undoubtedly a setback for Tennessee, who appeared to have a strong start to training camp over the past week. The intensity has leveled up, but the two units have to come together and remind themselves that they are all Titans at the end of the day.

Perhaps some disciplinary action will take place, but for now, it seems like the Titans will try to move past this issue swiftly.

The Titans will have the chance to be more physical against another team in next Saturday’s preseason opener at home against the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!