Harshbarger upsets veteran Sen. Lundberg in East Tennessee GOP primary

Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, lost Thursday despite receiving nearly $500,000 in support from school voucher groups and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally's political action committee. (Tennessee Lookout Photo by John Partipilo) Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, lost Thursday despite receiving nearly $500,000 in support from school voucher groups and Lt. Gov. Randy McNally's political action committee. (Tennessee Lookout Photo by John Partipilo)

By Sam Stockard / Tennessee Lookout August 2, 2024 4 min read

Big money couldn’t stop a Senate incumbent from suffering a loss Thursday in Tennessee’s Republican primary as the son of a U.S. congresswoman vaulted to victory in upper East Tennessee.

In contrast, massive political action committee spending pushed a sitting senator to victory in Sumner County and enabled a Senate challenger to upset a veteran lawmaker in East Tennessee’s District 8.

Kingsport pharmacist Bobby Harshbarger upset Sen. Jon Lundberg of Bristol in the District 4 race, aided by ads with his mother, U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, tying her endorsement from former President Donald Trump to him. According to results posted by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, Bobby Harshbarger captured 52% with a total vote count of 11,540 to Lundberg’s 10,668 votes and 48%.

Harshbarger won in spite of charges filed against his father for allegedly tampering with Lundberg election signs, which was caught on video.