Voters in Tennessee go to the polls to select candidates in primaries tonight, in an unusual Thursday election. (That seems to be Tennessee's habit, for whatever reason). We've rounded up all the key races below, but first, here's an interactive, zoomable map of the state's new congressional districts to help you follow along:
Interactive map of Tennessee's new congressional districts
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TN-03 (R): Even though freshman Rep. Chuck Fleischmann didn't seem to do much if anything wrong in his brief tenure in the House, he drew not one but two potentially serious primary challengers in his first reelection bid: wealthy ice cream mogul Scottie Mayfield, whose name adorns freezer aisles throughout the region, and young venture capitalist Weston Wamp, well-known only by virtue of being the son of the district's previous congressman, Zach Wamp. While the primary grew quite nasty in the end stages (and featured the usual assortment of outside spending), it appears that the clown car effect may save Fleischmann. The only recent poll (from Wenzel Strategies, taken on behalf of Fleischmann endorsers Citizens United) had the incumbent escaping with a 40 percent plurality, with Mayfield back at 28 percent and Wamp playing the third-wheel role at 19. Neither Mayfield nor Wamp responded with contradictory numbers, which suggests they may split the anti-incumbent vote and hand the nomination to Fleischmann.
• TN-06 (R): The 6th District faces a much more traditional establish-vs.-teabagger dynamic, with first-term Rep. Diane Black facing a rematch from the woman she only barely defeated in the primary in 2010, Lou Ann Zelenik. Black, thanks in part to her personal wealth, has far out-spent Zelenik, though Zelenik has received some outside help from wealthy sugar daddy Andrew Williams, with whom she shares extreme Islamophobic views. Zelenik's chances were hurt during redistricting, though, since her home base of Rutherford County was moved into an adjacent district. She also got a very late start, so Black remains the favorite here.
• TN-09 (D): For the third cycle in a row, an African American candidate is trying to unseat Rep. Steve Cohen, who is white and represents a majority-black district. Indeed, Cohen's faced a primary every single time he's come up for reelection, but this latest bid, from Memphis school board member Tomeka Hart, isn't going to be any more successful than the last two attempts. Cohen won 79 percent of the primary vote in both 2008 and 2010, and Hart has raised almost nothing. Most telling is the fact that Cohen still has over $900K in his campaign account: He's definitely not the sort to sleep-walk, so that means he knows Hart poses little threat to him.