# 2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee

Elections in Tennessee :
Federal government
U.S. President
1796
1800
1804
1808
1812
1816
1820
1824
1828
1832
1836
1840
1844
1848
1852
1856
1860
1864
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate
1796
1798
1803
1809
1823
1826
1829
1833
1835
1841
1844
1847
1851
1853
1858
1866
1867
1875
1877
1883
1887
1889
1893
1895
1899
1901
1905
1907
1911
1913
1916
1918
1922
1924
1928
1930
1934
1936
1940
1942
1946
1948
1952
1954
1958
1960
1964
1966
1970
1972
1976
1978
1982
1984
1988
1990
1994
1996
2000
2002
2006
2008
2012
2014
2018
2020
2024
2026
U.S. House
1796
1797
1799
1801
1803
1805
1807
1809
1811
1813
1815
1817
1819
1821
1823
1825
1827
1829
1831
1833
1835
1837
1839
1841
1842
1843
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1859
1861
1865
1867
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Special elections
Senate
1797
1798
1799
1809
1811
1815
1817
1819
1821
1825
1829
1838
1839
1840
1843
1857
1877
1898
1905
1913
1930
1934
1938
1964
1994
House
At-large
1797
1801
1st
1910
1961
2nd
1815
1891
1939
1964
1988
3rd
1939
4th
1837
1874
1875
5th
1814
1975
1988
6th
1939
7th
1932
1939
8th
1845
1958
1969
9th
1940 :
State government
State elections
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Gubernatorial elections
1796
1797
1799
1801
1803
1805
1807
1809
1811
1813
1815
1817
1819
1821
1823
1825
1827
1829
1831
1833
1835
1837
1839
1841
1843
1845
1847
1849
1851
1853
1855
1857
1859
1861
1863
1865
1867
1869
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
State Senate elections
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Ballot measures
2006
Amendment 1
2014
Amendment 1
2022
Amendment 1
Amendment 3
Nashville measures
Nashville Charter Amendment 1
Let's Move Nashville :
Local elections
Hamilton County mayoral elections
2018
2022
Chattanooga mayoral elections
2013
2017
2021
2025
Knox County mayoral elections
2010
2014
2018
2022
Knoxville mayoral elections
1983
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
Shelby County mayoral elections
2010
2014
2018
2022
Memphis mayoral elections
2011
2015
2019
2023
Clarksville Mayoral elections
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
Jackson Mayoral elections
2015
2019
2023
Murfreesboro Mayoral elections
2014
2018
2022
Nashville Mayoral elections
2007
2011
2015
2018 (sp)
2019
2023 :
Government :
vte :
The 2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee took place on November 4, 2014, to elect a member of the United States Senate from the State of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander defeated Democrat Gordon Ball, and was re-elected to a third term in office with 61.9% of the vote against 31.9%.
Lamar Alexander narrowly kept Shelby County in his column. Home to Memphis, Shelby County had not voted Republican on a presidential level since 1988. Notably, Alexander flipped reliably Democratic Haywood County which had not voted Republican on a presidential level since 1972, but had been trending Republican in recent years. However, he did lose Davidson County, a county which he narrowly flipped back in 2008. This county is home to Tennessee's capital, Nashville.

## Background

Lamar Alexander was reelected with 65.1% of the vote in the 2008 election. He stepped down from his leadership role as Republican Conference Chairman of the United States Senate in 2011, but announced that he would seek re-election to a third term. Nashville businessman, counseling executive and former 2012 U.S. Senate candidate Larry Crim filed his announcement of candidacy with the Secretary of the United States Senate in January 2013.

## Republican primary

Although Alexander was initially thought to be vulnerable to a primary challenge from the right, he worked to avoid this and ultimately did not face a high-profile challenger. He declared his intention to run early, quickly won the endorsement of Governor Bill Haslam, every living former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman and the state's entire Republican congressional delegation (except scandal-hit Scott DesJarlais). He also raised a large amount of money and worked to avoid the mistakes of ousted Senators Bob Bennett and Richard Lugar by trying to stay in touch with his constituents, especially in East Tennessee. Moreover, out-of-state conservative organizations such as the Senate Conservatives Fund made little effort to defeat Alexander.
During his re-election campaign in 2008, Alexander faced no opponents in the Republican primary. As early as July 2013, it was obvious that the same would not be true in 2014. The weekend of July 20, 2013, a rally was held in Smyrna in opposition to Alexander. Activists attending the event included Williamson County GOP leader Kevin Kookogey. By mid-August, Triton Polling released a poll showing Alexander trailing "a generic conservative" by 4.6 points. But no "generic conservative" seemed to want to step up. In search of a candidate, a "Beat Lamar" PAC held a forum and invited Kookogey, Knox County mayor Tim Burchett, and Alexander's only formal opponent at the time, Brenda Lenard of Knoxville.
On August 20, 2013, State Representative Joe Carr announced his candidacy. He had previously been opposing Scott Desjarlais in the race for Tennessee's 4th congressional district, but swapped races under public pressure. Kookogey soon dropped out of the race. Four candidates were then vetted in September by the "Coalition for a Constitutional Senate": Carr, truck driver Jerry Davis, business owner John McDaniel, and electrician Danny Page. The coalition ultimately endorsed Carr with 59% of the vote, but some felt that Carr's nomination was coerced by the leaders of the Beat Lamar PAC. Independent candidate Danny Page was especially vocal on that issue.
Entering the race late was George Flinn, a radiologist from Memphis who had run for Congress against Steve Cohen in 2012. There was some speculation that Flinn was a spoiler deployed by Alexander to steal Tea Party votes from Carr.
In the primary's final stretch Carr was endorsed by Sarah Palin, but he did not receive much other support from outside of Tennessee, failing to receive endorsements from the Senate Conservatives Fund or the Club for Growth.
Ultimately, Alexander won the primary, though he recorded the lowest winning percentage (49.7%) and lowest margin of victory (9.2 points) ever in a primary for a Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee. Carr won a larger percentage of the vote (40.5%) than the previous 11 challengers to sitting Republican U.S. Senators in Tennessee history combined (40.3%).

### Candidates
#### Declared

* Christian Agnew
* Lamar Alexander, incumbent U.S. Senator
* Joe Carr, state representative
* George Flinn, radiologist, radio station owner, former Shelby County Commissioner and nominee for Tennessee's 9th congressional district in 2012
* John King, businessman
* Brenda Lenard, doctoral student at the University of Tennessee and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012
* Erin Kent Magee

#### Withdrew

* Danny Page, electrician (running as an independent)

#### Declined

* Diane Black, U.S. Representative
* Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Representative
* Tim Burchett, Mayor of Knox County
* Stacey Campfield, state senator
* Jimmy Duncan, U.S. Representative
* Stephen Fincher, U.S. Representative
* Chuck Fleischmann, U.S. Representative
* Mark Green, state senator
* Glenn Jacobs (Kane), professional wrestler
* Kevin Kookogey, former chairman of the Williamson County Republican Party
* Monty Lankford, businessman, board member of the Tennessee Family Action Council and nominee for Tennessee's 4th congressional district in 2008
* Ron Ramsey, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Tennessee Senate
* Phil Roe, U.S. Representative

### Endorsements

Individuals
* Howard Baker, former Senate Majority Leader and former White House Chief of Staff
* Tom Beasley, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Diane Black, U.S. Representative
* Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Representative
* Bill Brock, former U.S. Senator and former United States Secretary of Labor
* Jim Burnett, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey
* Bob Corker, U.S. Senator
* Bob Davis, Jr., former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Jimmy Duncan, U.S. Representative
* Winfield Dunn, former Governor of Tennessee
* Stephen Fincher, U.S. Representative
* Chuck Fleischmann, U.S. Representative
* Bill Frist, former Senate Majority Leader
* Beth Harwell, Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Bill Haslam, Governor of Tennessee
* Jim Henry, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Tommy Hooper, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and candidate for President in 2008
* S.L. "Kopie" Kopald, Jr., former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Brad Martin, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Brian L. Mason, candidate for State House 51
* Charles L. Overby, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Ron Ramsey, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Tennessee Senate
* Randle Richardson, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Susan Richardson Williams, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Phil Roe, U.S. Representative
* Chip Saltsman, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Robin Smith, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Don Sundquist, former Governor of Tennessee
* Fred Thompson, former U.S. Senator and candidate for President in 2008
Individuals
* Sheila Butt (R-Columbia), Tennessee State Representative
* Michael DelGiorno & Ralph Bristol, radio hosts for WWTN in Nashville
* Laura Ingraham, author and conservative political commentator
* Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma), Tennessee State Representative
* Sarah Palin, former Governor of Alaska and nominee for vice president in 2008
* Mark Pody (R-Lebanon), Tennessee State Representative
* Courtney Rogers (R-Goodlettsville), Tennessee State Representative
* Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna), Tennessee State Representative
* Billy Spivey (R-Lewisburg), Tennessee State Representative
* Rick Womick (R-Rockvale), Tennessee State Representative
Organizations
* Beat Lamar PAC
* Coalition for a Constitutional Senate
* Tea Party Nation

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Lamar Alexander | Joe Carr | George Flinn | Brenda Lenard | Danny Page | Other | Undecided |
| North Star Opinion Research* | August 19–22, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 64% | 22% | — | — | — | — | 14% |
| North Star Opinion Research* | August 19–22, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 69% | — | — | 16% | — | — | 15% |
| Public Policy Polling^ | December 2–3, 2013 | 391 | ± 5% | 46% | 40% | — | — | — | — | 14% |
| MTSU | January 23–26, 2014 | ? | ± ? | 40% | 7% | — | — | — | 4% | 49% |
| North Star Opinion Research* | February 3–6, 2014 | 600 | ± 4% | 62% | 17% | — | 2% | 1% | — | 18% |
| North Star Opinion Research* | May 12–14, 2014 | 600 | ± 4% | 56% | 14% | — | 1% | 1% | — | 22% |
| Tea Party Nation/Triton | May 22, 2014 | 1,100 | ± ? | 44% | 20% | — | — | — | 9% | 27% |
| Tea Party Nation/Triton | July 10–11, 2014 | 1,099 | ± 2.9% | 43% | 36% | — | — | — | — | 21% |
| North Star Opinion Research* | July 20–22, 2014 | 600 | ± 4% | 53% | 21% | — | — | — | 9% | 15% |
| North Star Opinion Research* | July 27–29, 2014 | 600 | ± 4% | 53% | 24% | — | 1% | 1% | 5% | 16% |
| Red Racing Horses & PMI inc. | July 28–30, 2014 | 400 | ± 5% | 41% | 29% | 5% | — | — | 5% | 20% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Lamar Alexander | Someone more conservative | Undecided |
| Triton Polling | August 15–16, 2013 | 680 | ± 3.7% | 44.9% | 49.5% | 5.6% |
* * Internal poll for Lamar Alexander campaign
* ^ Internal poll for Terry Adams campaign
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Lamar Alexander | Tim Burchett | Undecided |
| North Star Opinion Research | August 19–22, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 62% | 23% | 15% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Lamar Alexander | Kevin Kookogey | Undecided |
| North Star Opinion Research | August 19–22, 2013 | 600 | ± 4% | 69% | 15% | 16% |

### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Lamar Alexander (incumbent) | 331,705 | 49.65% |
| | Republican | Joe Carr | 271,324 | 40.61% |
| | Republican | George Shea Flinn | 34,668 | 5.19% |
| | Republican | Christian Agnew | 11,320 | 1.69% |
| | Republican | Brenda S. Lenard | 7,908 | 1.18% |
| | Republican | John D. King | 7,748 | 1.16% |
| | Republican | Erin Kent Magee | 3,366 | 0.52% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 668,039 | 100.00% |

## Democratic primary
### Declared

* Terry Adams, attorney
* Gordon Ball, attorney
* Larry Crim, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012
* Gary Gene Davis, perennial candidate

### Withdrew

* Jacob Maurer, high school educator and write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012

### Declined

* Phil Bredesen, former Governor of Tennessee
* Joe Brown, arbiter of the CBS television series Judge Joe Brown and former Shelby County Criminal Court judge
* Craig Fitzhugh, Minority Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives
* Roy Herron, Chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, former state senator and nominee for Tennessee's 8th congressional district in 2010

### Endorsements

Public figures
* Charles Robert Bone, attorney and 2015 candidate for Mayor of Nashville
* Charles W. Bone, attorney and Democratic fundraiser
* Chase Cole, attorney and member of the Dean's Council of the Vanderbilt University School of Law
* Lincoln Davis, former U.S. Representative
* Lowe Finney, Tennessee State Senator
* Craig Fitzhugh, Tennessee State Representative
* Chip Forrester, former chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party
* Bill Freeman, businessman and potential candidate for Mayor of Nashville
* Doug Horne, former Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman and former candidate for Governor of Tennessee
* Jamie Isabel, former Nashville Metro Councilman
* Clark Jones, businessman and fundraiser
* Bill Mason, author, political consultant, and President of Tennessee Citizen Action
* Jerry Maynard II, Metro Councilman At-Large for Nashville
* Mike McWherter, Democratic nominee for Governor of Tennessee in 2010
* Doris Medlin, Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee Member and former Director of the Tennessee Commission on the Status of Women
* Olan Mills II, Chairman Emeritus of Olan Mills, Inc.
* Junaid Odubeko, commercial litigator and author
* Bob Tuke, former chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2008
* Mike Turner, state representative
Newspapers
* Chattanooga Times Free Press
* Knoxville News Sentinel
* A C Wharton, Mayor of Memphis
Public figures
* Imogene Bolin, Esq., Attorney of Middle Tennessee and Professor Emeritus of Public Administration at Middle Tennessee State University
* Barbara Cooper, of Memphis, State Rep.
* Scott Davis, Metro Nashville Councilman
* Tim Mills, minister, author and U.S. Selective Service board member serving the Tennessee region
* Doug Pardue, Metro Nashville Councilman
* Chantho Sourinho, Commissioner of Rutherford County, Tennessee
* Reginald Tate, of Memphis, State Senator
* Tony Tenpenny, Metro Nashville Councilman
Newspapers
* Memphis Regional News
* The Nashvillian

### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Gordon Ball | 87,829 | 36.45% |
| | Democratic | Terry Adams | 85,794 | 35.61% |
| | Democratic | Gary Gene Davis | 42,549 | 17.66% |
| | Democratic | Larry Crim | 24,777 | 10.28% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 240,949 | 100.00% |

## General election
### Candidates

* Lamar Alexander (Republican), incumbent U.S. Senator
* Gordon Ball (Democratic), attorney
* Tom Emerson Jr. (independent)
* Edmund Gauthier (independent)
* Joshua James (independent)
* Danny Page (independent), electrician
* Bartholomew Phillips (independent)
* Martin Pleasant (Green)
* C. Salekin (independent)
* Eric Schecter (independent)
* Rick Tyler (independent)
* Joe Wilmoth (Constitution), candidate for the state senate in 2010

### Endorsements

Tennessee State Government
* Beth Harwell, Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Bill Haslam, Governor of Tennessee
* Joey Hensley, state senator (R- Hohenwald)
* Matthew Hill, state representative (R- Jonesborough)
* Timothy Hill, state representative (R- Blountville)
* Andy Holt, state representative (R- Dresden)
* Brian L. Mason, candidate for State House
* Frank Niceley, state senator(R- Strawberry Plains)
* Mark Pody, state representative (R- Lebanon)
* Ron Ramsey, lieutenant governor and Speaker of the Tennessee Senate
* Bill Sanderson, state representative (R- Kenton)
* Mike Sparks, state representative (R- Smyrna)
* Billy Spivey, state representative (R- Lewisburg)
* Tim Wirgau, state representative (R- Buchanan)
* Rick Womick, state representative (R- Rockvale)
Members of US Congress
* Diane Black, U.S. Representative
* Marsha Blackburn, U.S. Representative
* Bob Corker, U.S. Senator
* Jimmy Duncan, U.S. Representative
* Stephen Fincher, U.S. Representative
* Chuck Fleischmann, U.S. Representative
* Angus King, U.S. Senator (I-ME)
* Phil Roe, U.S. Representative
Former Tennessee officials
* Tom Beasley, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Bill Brock, former U.S. Senator and former United States Secretary of Labor
* Jim Burnett, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Bob Davis, Jr., former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Winfield Dunn, former Governor of Tennessee
* Bill Frist, former Senate Majority Leader
* Jim Henry, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Tommy Hooper, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* S.L. "Kopie" Kopald, Jr., former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Brad Martin, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Charles L. Overby, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Randle Richardson, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Susan Richardson Williams, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Chip Saltsman, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Robin Smith, former Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party
* Don Sundquist, former Governor of Tennessee
* Fred Thompson, former U.S. Senator and candidate for President in 2008
U.S. governors
* Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey
* Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas and candidate for president in 2008
* Jim Cooper, U.S. Representative
* Brenda Gilmore, State representative
* Sherry Jones, State representative
* Diane Neighbors, Vice Mayor of Nashville
* Jason Powell, State representative
* Mike Stewart, State representative
* A C Wharton, Mayor of Memphis
Individuals
* Jacob Brimm, former candidate for US Congress 2014– Tennessee's 7th district
* Mark "Coonrippy" Brown, Republican candidate for Governor of Tennessee in 2014
* Mary Cook, leader of the Smokey Mountain Tea Party
* June Griffin, US Senate candidate in 2002, leader of Rhea County Tea Party
* John D. King, former candidate for Republican nomination US Senate 2014
* Brenda Lenard, former candidate for Republican nomination US Senate 2014 & 2012
* Erin Kent Magee, former candidate for Republican nomination US Senate 2014
* Kay White, leader of Tri-Cities Tea Party
Other
* Libertycandidates.com

### Debates

The first debate was held in Chattanooga, sponsored by Democrats United For Tennessee Inc. and Central Labor Council Members which included 15 candidates for state and federal office, attended by Larry Crim for U.S. Senate. Crim criticized Senators Bob Corker of Chattanooga and Lamar Alexander of Nashville for overreaching into the free enterprise of VW and their works councils, which Crim stated also implicated free association rights of the company, workers and labor and the free vote. U.S. Senate candidate Larry Crim and UAW International Rep. Tom Savage spoke on the importance of free elections at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga at the debate. The debate and forum were held at the Kingdom Center of Olivet Baptist Church.
Crim said, "Protecting voter rights for a free and fair election are as fundamental to expressing the will of workers in the workplace as it is to Americans at the polling place... For a U.S. Senator to offer incentives or threaten withdrawing public resources based on whether workers vote to recognize the union interferes with their free choice," continued the Democratic candidate for United States Senate. "It seems clear that there was an overreach here and I stand with labor on that," said Crim.
The second debate was held in Bolivar and attended by Democrats Gordon Ball and Terry Adams, Republican George Flinn, and independents Ed Gauthier and Danny Page. The attendees criticized Alexander and Carr for not attending.
The third was a "candidates' forum" after the primary in Cookeville on October 16. Only Republican nominee Lamar Alexander and Democratic nominee Gordon Ball were allowed to participate.
The fourth debate was on October 23 at a Sheraton Hotel across from the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville. The nominees for the Democratic Party (Gordon Ball), Libertarian Party (Joshua James), Green Party (Martin Pleasant), and Constitution Party (Joe Wilmoth) were all in attendance, as well as independents Tom Emerson, Ed Gauthier, and Danny Page. The moderator was blogger Tom Humphrey of the blog "Humphrey on the Hill". The candidates discussed a number of issues, including abortion, the Islamic State, Common Core education standards, and global warming, but the issue that stuck most with the media was marijuana. There was a general consensus among the seven candidates in attendance that the federal government should not be involved in the issue, and that authority on marijuana should be reserved to the states and people. Incumbent senator Lamar Alexander declined to participate in the debate, and was mocked by Democrat Gordon Ball as being "chicken". Alexander was speaking in front of various groups in Nashville and Murfreesboro that day.
The fifth and sixth debates were held in Johnson City and Crossville, and featured candidates Gordon Ball and Danny Page. Senator Alexander was invited, but attended neither.

### Campaign

In September, an education summit was held in Nashville by Governor Bill Haslam. A protest of the summit (which was largely a protest of the "Common Core" standards) was attended by Democrat Gordon Ball and independent Danny Page.
In late September, eleven members of the Tennessee General Assembly who had backed Joe Carr in the primaries announced they would back Alexander in the general election, saying, "We feel that it is vitally important to the country that we stand together and support replacing the liberal agenda that is now in control of the United States Senate". Carr himself abstained from the endorsement.

### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Solid R | November 3, 2014 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe R | November 3, 2014 |
| Rothenberg Political Report | Safe R | November 3, 2014 |
| Real Clear Politics | Safe R | November 3, 2014 |

### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Lamar Alexander (R) | Gordon Ball (D) | Other | Undecided |
| Rasmussen Reports | April 29–30, 2014 | 750 | ± 4% | 51% | 25% | 10% | 15% |
| CBS News/New York Times | July 5–24, 2014 | 1,465 | ± 5.4% | 48% | 33% | 14% | 5% |
| Rasmussen Reports | August 11–12, 2014 | 750 | ± 4% | 47% | 32% | 10% | 12% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov | August 18 – September 2, 2014 | 1,056 | ± 4% | 47% | 32% | 10% | 11% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov | September 20 – October 1, 2014 | 1,007 | ± 4% | 53% | 32% | 2% | 12% |
| CBS News/NYT/YouGov | October 16–23, 2014 | 974 | ± 5% | 55% | 33% | 2% | 10% |
With Adams
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Lamar Alexander (R) | Terry Adams (D) | Other | Undecided |
| Public Policy Polling ^ | December 2–3, 2013 | 531 | ± 4.3% | 45% | 32% | — | 23% |
| Rasmussen Reports | April 29–30, 2014 | 750 | ± 4% | 50% | 26% | 10% | 15% |
| CBS News/New York Times | July 5–24, 2014 | 1,465 | ± 5.4% | 48% | 35% | 7% | 10% |
* ^ Internal poll for Terry Adams campaign

### Results

2014 United States Senate election in Tennessee :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Republican | Lamar Alexander (incumbent) | 850,087 | 61.87% | −3.27% |
| | Democratic | Gordon Ball | 437,848 | 31.87% | +0.23% |
| | Constitution | Joe Wilmoth | 36,088 | 2.63% | N/A |
| | Green | Martin Pleasant | 12,570 | 0.91% | N/A |
| | Independent | Tom Emerson, Jr. | 11,157 | 0.81% | N/A |
| | Independent | Danny Page | 7,713 | 0.56% | N/A |
| | Independent | Rick Tyler | 5,759 | 0.42% | N/A |
| | Independent | Joshua James | 5,678 | 0.41% | N/A |
| | Independent | Bartholomew J. Phillips | 2,386 | 0.17% | N/A |
| | Independent | Edmund L. Gauthier | 2,314 | 0.17% | N/A |
| | Independent | Eric Schechter | 1,673 | 0.12% | N/A |
| | Independent | Choudhury Salekin | 787 | 0.06% | N/A |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 5 | 0.00% | N/A |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,374,065 | 100.00% | N/A |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

#### Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Davidson (largest city: Nashville)

#### Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

* Haywood (largest city: Brownsville)

#### By congressional district

Alexander won 7 of 9 congressional districts.
| District | Alexander | Ball | Representative |
| 1st | 72% | 21% | Phil Roe |
| 2nd | 66% | 27% | Jimmy Duncan |
| 3rd | 67% | 28% | Chuck Fleischmann |
| 4th | 65% | 28% | Scott DesJarlais |
| 5th | 46% | 49% | Jim Cooper |
| 6th | 66% | 26% | Diane Black |
| 7th | 66% | 27% | Marsha Blackburn |
| 8th | 69% | 25% | Stephen Fincher |
| 9th | 32% | 64% | Steve Cohen |