On Thursday, Tennesseans selected nominees for their next governor, United States senator and state legislators and made their final picks for county mayor, sheriff and school board, among other offices. Important stuff.
But for Hamilton County, if early voting was an indication, it was all a big yawn.
Statewide early voting, according to figures from the state Division of Elections, increased by 11.01 percent. In Hamilton County, it actually dropped 0.21 percent. In 2018, 46 fewer people in Hamilton County voted early than they did in 2014, the last mid-term election.
But here's the kicker. Hamilton County's estimated early-voting turnout of 8.41 percent was last - 95th - of the state's 95 counties.
Are you kidding?
In 2014, Gov. Bill Haslam was running for his second term and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander had a bit of a primary challenge for a third term, but neither was in any danger of losing. Perhaps the hottest local race was the Republican primary for Congress, pitting incumbent U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann against Weston Wamp, son of former U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, for the second time. Fleischmann won by 1.6 percent.
But this year, nominations for a new governor and a new U.S. senator were being contested, and the Republican gubernatorial primary was expected to be particularly close. And we in Hamilton County send fewer people to the polls to vote early, which, essentially, is at our convenience?
What's wrong with us?
Was it the weather? Perhaps all of Southeast Tennessee hit the skids with rain and what-not.
Nope, among counties that touch Hamilton, early voting was up 37.17 percent in Sequatchie County, 14.32 percent in Bradley County, 2.95 percent in Marion County and 1.61 percent in Rhea County, though down 23.31 percent in Bledsoe County and 3.19 percent in Meigs County.
Early voting was up in the state's three larger counties than Hamilton. It rose 4.37 percent in Shelby County (Memphis), 87.60 percent in Davidson (Nashville) and 24.83 percent in Knox (Knoxville). Indeed, Knox County, which had about 97,000 more residents than Hamilton County's 354,098 residents in 2015, had more than twice as many early voters than Hamilton County did. And Davidson County had more new early voters this year, compared to four years ago, than Hamilton County had early voters in total.
In fact, we voted in such low numbers that the state's fifth largest county (Rutherford) passed us in the number of total voters who cast an early ballot.
We ought to be ashamed.
Across the state, the election turned out more early Republican and Democratic voters than did 2014 - 12.39 percent more Republicans and 27.77 percent more Democrats. Trump Derangement Syndrome, in part, accounts for the higher Democratic turnout. Unhappy that the president won an upset victory in 2016, Democrats are contending for more offices and voting in higher numbers this year. That's a positive thing.
But in Hamilton County, 23.01 percent fewer Republicans voted early, but 65.13 percent more Democrats voted before Election Day. Some of that might be chalked up to the closer Republican congressional primary race four years ago, but that's a sizable drop and an impressive Democratic increase. Still, almost 2,600 more Republicans voted early in Hamilton County than did Democrats.
If the Republican early voting count was down across the state, compared to four years ago, that would be concerning and a definite sign the Democrats' dreamed-of Blue Wave might touch the Volunteer State. But, no, Hamilton County had the third biggest percentage drop in Republican early voting across the state, trailing the much smaller Lincoln (down 30.72 percent) and Bledsoe counties.
The Democratic early vote in Hamilton County, while substantial, did not even make the top 10 increased percentages in the state.
While Hamilton County remains a solid red county, it had only the seventh most voters who cast Republican primary ballots across the state, behind Shelby, Knox, Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford and Wilson counties.
Voters in Hamilton County cast the sixth highest percentage of Democratic ballots in early voting, trailing Davidson, Shelby, Haywood, Lauderdale and Hardeman counties, and by number of voters trailed only Shelby, Davidson and Knox counties.
This election gave us not only the opportunity to nominate a new governor and senator, but it also offered the chance to pick nominees in three open state legislative seats (a rarity - the most since 2004), the prospect of electing governmental officials closer to us (county mayor and sheriff) and the occasion to determine a majority of the members of the board that decides on actions in our all-important school district.
What more could we have wanted?
Why, then, would we want to be first in "best cities" lists, tops in outdoor tourism and last in voting? C'mon, Hamilton County, we can do better.