Tennessee U.S. Senate Voter Guide: Hagerty, Bradshaw and Eight Independents on Affordability and Health Care
Ten candidates are on the Nov. 3 ballot for U.S. Senate in Tennessee, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State's certified candidate list: Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty of Nashville, the incumbent; Democrat Marquita Bradshaw of Memphis; and eight independents: Tharon Chandler of Lawrenceburg, Andrew Gerena of Knoxville, Jeremy Dean Hearn of Collierville, Robert Jones of Jonesborough, James William Macon III of Memphis, Yoshi D. Matthews of Goodlettsville, David Sutman, Jr. of Gray and Catherine Barcel "Barcy" Whitson of Chattanooga. The Digital Free Press voter guide video compares where all 10 stand on affordability and health care.
The race is a rematch of 2020, when Hagerty won his first term with 62% of the vote to Bradshaw's 35%, Local 3 News reported. Bradshaw won the Democratic nomination in the Aug. 6 primary with 54.7% of the vote, according to Ballotpedia, and Hagerty was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Why Affordability and Health Care Are Issues in Tennessee's Senate Race
Rising costs run through nearly every candidate's platform. Bradshaw told Knox News that people "can't afford to get simple things like milk, eggs and diapers, or they're making a choice between medicine and rent or facing homelessness because things keep rising." Several independents list the cost of groceries, housing and fuel among their top issues, and Hagerty has introduced housing legislation he says would make new homes more affordable. On health care, the debate in Congress over whether to extend expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies divided Hagerty and Democrats in December 2025, according to Hagerty's own office.
The TDFP video draws on each candidate's published positions: campaign websites, the senator's press releases, candidate questionnaires and local news voter guides. Where the reviewed material contained no specific proposal, the video says so.
On affordability, the video says Hagerty backs housing deregulation and priority for existing federal housing grants for communities that reduce building barriers, and Bradshaw backs raising the federal minimum wage and reducing medical costs to help families afford housing. It says Chandler opposes price gouging and calls for sound monetary and fiscal policy; Gerena rejects tax increases and supports right-to-repair protections; Hearn proposes an Equal Earnings Act and what he calls activating Fort Knox resources to address the national debt; Jones backs prefabricated lower-cost housing and collective bulk buying; Macon backs advanced manufacturing, infrastructure investment and workforce training; Matthews proposes universal basic income for eligible Americans and protection for seniors facing property taxes; Sutman promises relief from grocery, housing and fuel costs and cuts to wasteful spending; and Whitson backs high-paying jobs, local small businesses and partnerships to build affordable tiny-house communities.
On health care, the video says Hagerty backs cost-sharing reduction funding and tighter subsidy eligibility and fraud protections instead of expanded ACA subsidies, and Bradshaw backs lower drug costs, stronger rural hospitals and expanded mental health and substance use treatment. It says Chandler calls for removing the profit motive from health care and better support for basic medical needs; Gerena calls for fixing profit-driven health care and giving veterans a choice of providers; Jones calls for rethinking insurance pricing and open dialogue with health professionals; Macon backs expanded access to doctors, stronger mental health services and affordable care; and Whitson backs lower drug costs, protecting rural hospitals and wider access through existing health care programs. For Hearn, Matthews and Sutman, the video found no specific health care coverage proposal in the reviewed campaign material.
Bill Hagerty (Republican)
On affordability, Hagerty introduced the Freedom to Build Act on April 14, 2026. His office said the bill would "incentivize deregulation, expand housing supply, and make new homes more affordable." Under the bill, localities certified by the Department of Housing and Urban Development "receive priority consideration for existing HUD housing grants," and the bill "simply aligns existing federal incentives to reward communities that reduce regulatory barriers to building new homes," according to the release. "For many Americans, the dream of owning a home is increasingly out of reach, and excessive regulations have made new homes too costly for many American families," Hagerty said. "My Freedom to Build Act streamlines costly and often redundant regulations to reduce the cost of a new home in our country."
On health care, Hagerty opposed a Democratic proposal for a three-year extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies in December 2025. In remarks released by his office on Dec. 11, 2025, he described Republican "solutions that will lower benchmark premiums by 11%, save $30 billion dollars by appropriating cost-sharing reductions, and empower patients to make their own healthcare decisions." He added: "There are further Republican solutions being debated right now, solutions that add serious fraud protections and ensure that wealthy Americans are not receiving taxpayer subsidies." The 11% and $30 billion figures are Hagerty's own claims and were not independently verified by TDFP.
Marquita Bradshaw (Democrat)
On affordability, Bradshaw was asked by Knox News how she would make housing more affordable for renters and first-time homebuyers. "It's making sure that people have a livable wage," she said. "Raising the federal minimum wage is one thing. We have to make sure that health care costs go down for families and that makes housing affordable, too." Her campaign website says she "will support policies that expand affordable housing, strengthen assistance for renters and first-time homebuyers, address homelessness, and protect families from unfair housing practices."
On health care, Bradshaw's campaign website says "Her priorities include lowering prescription-drug costs, protecting rural hospitals and community clinics, and removing barriers that prevent families from receiving timely preventive and primary care." It adds that "She also supports expanding mental-health and substance-use treatment, strengthening maternal and reproductive healthcare, and ensuring seniors can age with dignity."
Tharon Chandler (Independent)
Chandler, a Lawrenceburg native who has worked as a journalist and economist, aims "to take profit motives out of the healthcare system and is against the act of price gouging," Local 3 News reported. He has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 candidate survey; in the survey he completed during his 2024 Senate run, he wrote: "As an econ major I'm for proper monetary and fiscal policy in USA. I'm against price gouging and against insider trading."
On health care, Chandler wrote in that 2024 survey: "In healthcare I know other countries do much better in supporting needy persons in the basic needs of housing and personal care and medicine that is not drugs for profit. We must get the $ profit motive out of the healthcare system if we intend to have any happiness and longevity."
Andrew Gerena (Independent)
On affordability, Gerena's campaign website lists "Common sense budgeting, rejecting any Tax increase" under "Prioritizing fiscal responsibility," and "RIGHT TO REPAIR (defend our farmers and the working class)" under "Invest in the American people." In his 2026 Ballotpedia candidate survey, he also called for "Repealing Tennessee's Restrictions against enacting ANY reasonable rent price controls."
On health care, Gerena's website calls to "Fix the corrupt, profit based healthcare system" and to "Give veterans the freedom to choose their healthcare providers," along with modernizing the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Jeremy Dean Hearn (Independent)
On affordability, Hearn's campaign website lists "Drafting of Equal Earnings Act" and "Activation of US_Fort Knox: $3.3 trillion USDs for 365-day legislation and a debt resolution of $33 trillion USDs at onset to provide relief for Americans" among his priorities. Those dollar figures are the campaign's own and are not explained further on the site. The site also calls to "ACTIVATE THE US_FORT KNOX TREASURY TO ADDRESS AND CLARIFY THE NATIONAL DEBT."
On health care, Hearn's website says "MOLECULAR RESOURCES are a modern route TOWARD PREVENTING, DIAGNOSING, and PROTECTING from COVID-19 and DISEASE" and that "Nuclear coding and other 21st century jobs provide FUNDING AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO ASSIST THE FLAT HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY." No specific health care coverage proposal was found in the reviewed campaign material.
Robert Jones (Independent)
On affordability, Jones' campaign website says communities, "with the assistance of the government, can ease their costs by working together, buying in bulk as a collective, and letting their money extend further." On housing, it says: "Creating 'cookie-cutter' prefabricated solutions is not difficult. There are solutions that take out the cost of customization while giving a better and more cost-effective product to the people."
On health care, Jones' website points to price differences between cash-paying and insured patients and says "we need to completely rethink our healthcare system. What should an insurance company 'provide' for a customer? Where should the government intervene in the process? We must have open dialogue with our healthcare professionals to find appropriate solutions for the people."
James William Macon III (Independent)
On affordability, Macon wrote in his candidate profile on Vote Rutherford, a Rutherford County voter information site: "My focus is simple: lower costs, better jobs, and stronger communities. I will fight to bring advanced manufacturing, infrastructure investment, and workforce training to every corner of our state so that young people can build a future here instead of feeling forced to leave."
On health care, he wrote in the same profile: "I will work to expand access to doctors, strengthen mental health services, support law enforcement while demanding accountability, and invest in education from early childhood through career training." Local 3 News reported that the focus of his campaign includes "expanding access to affordable healthcare."
Yoshi D. Matthews (Independent)
On affordability, Matthews' campaign issues page says: "My proposal would provide a reliable financial foundation for eligible Americans while reducing economic insecurity and helping families meet the rising costs of everyday life," referring to universal basic income. On property taxes, it says: "No Tennessee senior should lose their home to property taxes after a lifetime of work and contribution."
On health care, no specific health care coverage proposal was found in the reviewed campaign issues page, which lists reparations, senior property taxes, universal basic income, affordability and the economy, border security and immigration, and education.
David Sutman, Jr. (Independent)
On affordability, Sutman's campaign website says "Groceries, housing, and fuel are crushing working families" and "Washington continues to spend without accountability," and pledges a "Focus on practical solutions that reduce everyday costs." Its platform lists "Cut Wasteful Spending" first.
On health care, no specific health care proposal was found in the reviewed campaign platform.
Catherine Barcel "Barcy" Whitson (Independent)
On affordability, Whitson's campaign website lists "Lowering costs, creating high-paying jobs, and supporting local small business/entrepreneurs" under economic growth. On housing, it calls for help for "the 10,000 currently unhoused Tennesseans via partnering with churches, businesses, etc. to create safe tiny house communities and such." The 10,000 figure is the campaign's own.
On health care, Whitson's website says she would "Work to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and protect and improve rural hospitals and health care practices devoted to our rural neighbors" and "Utilize the existing Health Care Act to help folks who do not have group health benefits."
Where to Follow the Candidates
Bill Hagerty: hagerty.senate.gov (Senate office). Marquita Bradshaw: @BradshawforTN on X and marquitabradshaw.com. Tharon Chandler: no campaign website found. Andrew Gerena: jeranimo4senate.org. Jeremy Dean Hearn: jeremydeanhearnforsenate.com. Robert Jones: @robertforall95 on X and robertfortn.com. James William Macon III: no campaign website found. Yoshi D. Matthews: yoshimatthewssenate.com. David Sutman, Jr.: sutmanjr4senate.com. Barcy Whitson: senatorbarcy.org.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Tennessee voters can check their registration and find their polling place through the Tennessee Secretary of State's GoVoteTN site at govotetn.gov. This guide is for information only; The Digital Free Press does not endorse any candidate.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: Tennessee Secretary of State, Certified Candidate List, U.S. Senate, Nov. 3, 2026: https://sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/USSenate_Nov2026.pdf ; Local 3 News, DECISION 2026: Tennessee U.S. Senate race (Oct. 24, 2026): https://www.local3news.com/local-news/decision-2026-tennessee-u-s-senate-race/article_ebe5c8fa-0008-47b9-abb5-dae4cf8d6835.html ; Ballotpedia, United States Senate election in Tennessee, 2026: https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_election_in_Tennessee,_2026 ; Sen. Bill Hagerty, Hagerty Introduces "Freedom to Build Act" to Make Housing Affordable Again (April 14, 2026): https://www.hagerty.senate.gov/press-releases/2026/04/14/hagerty-introduces-freedom-to-build-act-to-make-housing-affordable-again/ ; Sen. Bill Hagerty, Hagerty Slams Democrats for Continuing Failed Healthcare Policies Making Insurance Unaffordable (Dec. 11, 2025): https://www.hagerty.senate.gov/press-releases/2025/12/11/hagerty-slams-democrats-for-continuing-failed-healthcare-policies-making-insurance-unaffordable/ ; Knox News, U.S. Senate voter's guide for Tennessee: Meet candidates Bradshaw and Hagerty (Oct. 1, 2026): https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/10/01/us-senate-voters-guide-tennessee-candidates-bradshaw-hagerty/91777973007/ ; Marquita Bradshaw for U.S. Senate, Invest In Affordable Housing: https://marquitabradshaw.com/issues/invest-in-affordable-housing ; Marquita Bradshaw for U.S. Senate, Healthcare Is a Right: https://marquitabradshaw.com/issues/healthcare ; Ballotpedia, Tharon Chandler: https://ballotpedia.org/Tharon_Chandler ; Andrew Gerena for U.S. Senate, On the Issues: https://jeranimo4senate.org/issues ; Ballotpedia, Andrew Gerena: https://ballotpedia.org/Andrew_Gerena ; Jeremy Dean Hearn for U.S. Senate: https://www.jeremydeanhearnforsenate.com/ ; Robert Jones for Tennessee, Issues: https://robertfortn.com/issues ; Vote Rutherford, James William Macon III candidate profile: https://govoterutherford.com/elections/2026-state-and-federal-general-election/senator/james-william-macon-iii ; Yoshi Matthews for U.S. Senate, Issues: https://yoshimatthewssenate.com/issues/ ; Sutman Jr. for U.S. Senate: https://sutmanjr4senate.com/ ; Barcy Whitson for U.S. Senate: https://senatorbarcy.org/
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