We are still unpacking Tuesday's midterms, and beyond Republican voters in several states choosing to either sit this election out or actively vote for their demise, in terms of the Southern states, there are canaries in the coal mine.

None more than Tennessee.

RedState already laid out the big wins in Republicans keeping the governorship of Tennessee, and the GOP wins of the state's nearby neighbors, Alabama and South Carolina. However, there are fissures and erosions occurring in both TN and AL which, if ignored, will result in these red strongholds facing the same form of Democrat takedown that happened in Texas. 

But more on that in a future article. Let's talk Tennessee. 

While Republicans held onto their firm grip on the Tennessee statehouse in the Nov. 3 midterm election, Democrats chipped away at it, flipping six state House districts in Clarksville, Knoxville, Memphis and Murfreesboro. 

Over in West Knoxville, Democrat Bryan Goldberg wrested his state House seat from a Republican incumbent. So did Jesse Huseth in Tennessee House District 97 in Memphis, where he dispatched Republican incumbent John Gillespie after losing their last contest in 2024 by about 3.5 percentage points. And Democrat Allie Phillips flipped her Montgomery County state House seat, defeating Republican incumbent Michael Lankford.

[...]

The Tennessee Democratic Party called the victories a "significant breakthrough for Democrats in one of Middle Tennessee's fastest growing counties."

And there it is. All it takes is subtraction by erosion, and once that erosion sets in, decay inevitably follows.

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As RedState reported, Tennessee elected its first female governor in Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). After the April 2026 SCOTUS decision in Louisiana v. Callais, the Tennessee legislature was successful in redrawing the electoral maps to 7-0 Republican, and altered District 9 in such a way that the lone Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), cried like a baby over being iced, then chose not to run for reelection. On November 3, Republicans were able to pull out a win with the election of Republican nominee Brent Taylor over the Democrat clown car passenger, State Rep. Justin Pearson. Pearson's claim to fame was being arrested and expelled from the statehouse for his theatrical protests over gun control legislation. Pearson was reinstated and re-elected to the statehouse, but not after gaining national attention, which became his launchpad to run for national office. 

But the margin of Taylor's win over Pearson was terribly thin: 49.8 to 48.5. 

Not a mandate, by any measure, and a slim enough win for Pearson and his ilk to continue screaming about voter suppression and Republican gerrymandering.

As some may recall, he first captured national attention in 2023 as one of the "Tennessee Three," a trio of Democratic lawmakers who protested for gun reform following a deadly school shooting in Nashville. He was subsequently expelled from the state House alongside Rep. Justin Jones before he was eventually reinstated and reelected by voters. His congressional loss on Tuesday also comes after Republicans redrew Tennessee's historically Democratic, majority-Black 9th Congressional District in an effort to improve their party's electoral prospects.

Pearson ran on a platform focused on economic justice, Medicare for All, living wages, stronger gun safety laws, and greater environmental protections, including restrictions on larger data centers. He also managed to gain support from major names in the political sphere, including former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) endorsed Pearson, and claimed she was "bringing the North to the South" with her fake Black accent. But here's the warning knell: this is the same attrition-by-erosion strategy employed by Democrats, and the same playbook run by (God help us) TX Democrat Senator-elect James Talarico. 

Talarico, along with his fellow Texas Democrat state reps, pulled a stunt where they disappeared from the state in order to protest the Texas legislature's redistricting map vote. After this, Talarico gained nationwide attention and recognition, which fueled his run for U.S. Senate. 

The rest, as they say, is history. So, be afraid. Be very afraid.

Here's proof that no matter how much Democrats cried about the Republican gerrymander, when given a choice, the people ultimately decided. The race for the Republican-held Congressional District 4, which was once held by former Democrat Vice President Al Gore, saw a grassroots upset. Democrat candidate Victoria Broderick pulled out a win over incumbent Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais (TN-04) by 280 votes.

Broderick earned a couple hundred votes more than 16-year incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais in Tennessee's 4th Congressional District, potentially flipping the district for Democrats for the first time since 2011. It was the only federal or statewide victory for Democrats on Nov. 3. 

TN-04 constituents, meet your new representative.

WATCH: 

Republicans in Tennessee and other Southern states who want to hold the line against socialist takeover must prepare and fund candidates for local and national office who will not only be able to articulate why conservative principles and ideals are a winning strategy. They also must show voters why the attractively woven gobbledygook and theatrics on the other side are losers, as well as guaranteed destruction for America as we know it.