Victoria Broderick claims victory over U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais in 4th Congressional District

Democrat Victoria Broderick claimed victory in Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District late Tuesday after unofficial election results showed her with a razor-thin margin of victory to flip a reliably Republican seat occupied by U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais since 2011.

DesJarlais had not conceded defeat as of midnight in a race that separated him from Broderick by fewer than 300 votes, according to unofficial totals reported by the Secretary of State. Broderick received 48.87% of the vote to DesJarlais’ 48.73%, according to the unofficial results. 

Broderick, 34, is a tech support worker and member of the Tennessee Democratic Party executive committee, who campaigned on affordability. She described herself as “a working-class mom from rural Tennessee” and said she was in the race “because we deserve better than being treated like an afterthought.” She lives in Lincoln County with her husband and two sons.

Broderick ran against DesJarlais in 2024, losing by more than 40 percentage points. Since then, a redistricting process by Tennessee Republicans rejiggered the 4th district in east Tennessee to include a portion of Nashville.

Broderick won only two of the 11 counties that make up the district — Davidson and Rutherford. The counties are the two most populous in the district.