Inside the race for Tennessee's 1st Congressional District • Tennessee Lookout
Three Democrats face off for the chance to try to unseat two-term incumbent Republican U.S. House Rep. Diana Harshbarger
In the 2026 midterm election, three Democrats vie for the nomination in order to have a chance to take on incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger in Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District. (Getty Images)
The race for Tennessee’s 1st Congressional district looks like an underdog story in which three Democrats seek to unseat two-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger of Kingsport.
Harshbarger has easily cleared her last two races with nearly 80% of the vote, with no challengers coming close in 2022 or ‘24. She vastly eclipses her Democratic challengers in funding this year, and is the only one with major funding from corporate political action committees in the race.
Harshbarger declined to speak with Tennessee Lookout for this piece.
But this summer, the Democratic challengers — Kristi Burke, Herman Garcia and David Kerr — all think they have a shot at kn…