CONTINUOUS COVERAGE: TN District One Race

UPDATED at 11:45p.m.
By Mac McLean, The Bristol Herald Courier
Greene County’s election results are complete and unofficial election results show that Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe has defeated his opponent incumbent U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-Tenn., in today’s election. Roe received 25,918 votes or 50.4 percent of the ballots cast in today’s contest according to unofficial results. Davis received 25,458 votes or 49.6 percent of the ballots cast.
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UPDATED at 11:28p.m.
By Mac McLean, The Bristol Herald Courier
According to unofficial election results, Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe is poised to win the Republican Party’s nomination for Tennessee’s 1st District seat by 613 votes, or less than one percent of ballots cast in today’s election. Roe gathered 25,904 votes while his opponent, incumbent U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-Tenn., received 25,291 votes.

These totals reflect complete counts from 10 of the 11 counties that make up the 1st District. Greene County, which is the only county not to have complete results, is still working to count its absentee ballots, which county election officials say they will have ready in 15 minutes.
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UPDATED at 11:10p.m.
By Mac McLean, The Bristol Herald Courier
Roe has 50.6%
Davis has 49.4%
With a 600-vote lead in unofficial results for today’s election, Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe stands poised to win the Republican Party’s nomination for Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District seat. Roe currently has 25,904 votes while his opponent—incumbent U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-Tenn.—has 25,291 votes.

These unofficial results are complete from 10 of the 11 counties that make up the 1st District. Greene County has counted results from each one of its precincts, but has not yet finished counting its absentee ballots. Greene County elections officials expect to have those numbers ready in 15 minutes.
County Davis/ Roe
Carter 3123/ 4213
Cocke 896/ 977
Greene 2326/ 1746
Hamblen 1192/ 794
Hancock 527/ 311
Hawkins 1800/ 1562
Jefferson 314/ 206
Johnson 802/ 691
Sevier 3349/ 2584
Sullivan 4110/ 4985
Unicoi 1408/ 1315
Washington 5444/ 6520
Total 25291/ 25904
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UPDATED at 10:40p.m.
Roe also bested Davis in Sullivan County with a total of 4,985 votes or 54.5 percent to Davis’ 4,110 votes, or 44.9 percent
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UPDATED at 10:30p.m.
Final in Sullivan County
Roe 4,985 or 54.5 percent
Davis 4,110 or 44.9 percent
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UPDATED at 9:45p.m.
As of 9: 45 p.m., Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe led incumbent U.S. Congressman David Davis by 2 percentage points in the race to win the Republican Primary with 50 percent of precincts reporting.

Roe started the evening by leading Davis by as much as 10 percent in Sullivan County and about 6 percent in Washington County, the two most highly populated counties in the district.

Numbers are still creeping in from Greene, Unicoi and Hancock counties. Davis won these counties by a wide margin in the 2006 Republican Primary.
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UPDATED at 9:20p.m.
Roe, Davis running close in 1st District primary
UPDATES with early returns in 1st District, Blackburn leading, Davis and Wamp winning.
From the Associated Press:
By WOODY BAIRD Associated Press Writer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Early voting returns show congressman David Davis and challenger Phil Roe running close in the Republican primary for the Tennessee’s 1st District seat.

With 21 percent of precincts reporting in the northeast Tennessee district, Roe was barely ahead with 8,901 votes to Davis’ 8,843. Each candidate had just over 49 percent of the vote.

The 1st District GOP primary and the 9th District Democratic primary in Memphis were the tightest congressional races in Tennessee.

Returns were slow in Memphis with no trends established an hour after polls closed.
In the 7th District, Republican incumbent Marsha Blackburn took a large lead over challenger Tom Leatherwood.

Democrat Lincoln Davis in the 4th District and Republican Zach Wamp in the 3rd District each defeated token opposition.
Four Tennessee incumbents faced no primary opposition - Republican John Duncan of the 2nd District, and Democrats Jim Cooper of the 5th, Bart Gordon of the 6th and John Tanner of the 8th.
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UPDATED at 9:00p.m.
Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe has topped Congressman David Davis in early and absentee voting in both Washington and Sullivan counties.

Of Washington County’s 4,187 early votes, Roe took 52.9 percent while Davis garnered 46.5 percent. Mahmood Sabri received less than 1 percent. 

Of 4,453 total early votes in Sullivan County, Roe took 55.8 percent, and Davis grabbed 43.7. Mahmood Sabri gathered less than 1 percent.

Meanwhile, Connie Sinks, Washington County administrator of elections, confirmed that voter turnout in that county is not that strong this year.

“It looks like I was correct when I said earlier that voter turnout was low,” she said. “It’s much lower than expected.
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UPDATED at 8:15p.m.
Phil Roe has topped Congressman David Davis in early and absentee voting in Sullivan County.
Of 4,453 total votes, Roe took 55.8 percent, and Davis grabbed 43.7. Mahmood Sabri gathered less than 1 percent.
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UPDATED at 8:15p.m.
Phil Roe has topped Congressman David Davis in early and absentee voting in Sullivan County.
Of 4,453 total votes, Roe took 55.8 percent, and Davis grabbed 43.7. Mahmood Sabri gathered less than 1 percent.
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UPDATED at 8p.m.
The polls officially closed at 8 p.m. Precinct chairpersons will now be making their way to county election headquarters where votes cast throughout the day will be tallied.

County election officials are expected to release early and absentee voting totals within the hour.

Each county will then begin verifying ballots from each precinct and reporting results.

The race between Republican incumbent Congressman David Davis and Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe will decide who will face tonight’s Democratic winner on Nov. 4 for Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District seat.

Rob Russell and Michael Donihe, both of Kingsport, are the Democrats vying for the spot.
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UPDATED at 7p.m.
With about one hour to go before polls close, voter turnout remains light according to election officials across the region.

Turnout was expected to pick up after 5 p.m. when people normally get off work. But thunderstorms passing through the region may bee keeping some voters at bay.

The storms appear to be moving east and the skies are expected to clear.
Connie Sinks, Sullivan County administrator of elections, said voter turnout has remained low to moderate throughout the day in each county within the 1st Congressional District.

Polls close at 8 p.m., and early voting numbers are expected to be announced before 9 p.m.

In the 2006 primary, early voting numbers and the final count varied only slightly when David Davis won with only 22 percent of the total vote.   
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UPDATED at 6p.m.
Election administrators from Washington, Sullivan, Carter, and other counties within Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District are saying that so far, the number of voters showing up at the polls for today’s primaries has been very light. 

Connie Sinks, Washington County administrator of elections, said all precincts in Johnson City have reported that turnout has been light. Johnson City is home to both Republican Congressman David Davis and his closest challenger, Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe.

“We did have a big early voter turnout [4,328], and I would think that both of them being from Johnson City and Washington County that we’d get a much higher turnout,” Sinks said. “I hope that as people get off work they’ll get out and vote.” 
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Original Post at 4:15p.m.
CONTINUOUS COVERAGE: TN District One Race
Voters continue to trickle into polling places across the region this afternoon during the Republican and Democratic primaries to choose who they want to represent them on federal, state and local levels.

Of particular interest will be the final tally in Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District race among Republican incumbent David Davis and Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe.

Davis has outspent Roe by about $400,000, but the race is expected to be close.

Gena Frye, Sullivan County administrator of elections, reported at about 3 p.m. that voter turnout has been lighter than normal today, though early and absentee voting numbers were higher than usual this year.

The polls close at 8 p.m., and early voting numbers should be available soon after.