Tennessee — 8th District

D Democratic Heidi Kuhn

Lowering living costs and stopping tax giveaways

Kuhn makes lowering the cost of living for working families her top priority, focusing on essential household expenses like groceries, housing, healthcare, and utilities. She advocates expanding the Child Tax Credit and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit while opposing corporate tax giveaways, monopolistic grocery mergers, and price gouging. She also promises to repeal cuts to SNAP benefits and reject tariffs that drive up prices.

• Repeal cuts to SNAP food assistance benefits
• Expand the Child Tax Credit and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
• Oppose monopolistic grocery mergers, price gouging, and shrinkflation
• Reject tariffs and corporate giveaways driving up inflation

“Lowering the cost of living for working families is my top priority.”

R Republican David Kustoff

Supports tax cuts and deregulation

Kustoff emphasizes tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks to stimulate job growth and strengthen the economy. He supported the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, and voted for federal fiscal reconciliation legislation. He highlights lower unemployment and increased small business optimism following federal deregulation.

• Voted for historic federal tax cuts and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1)
• Signed Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge
• Supported eliminating over 1,500 federal regulations to spur business growth
• Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act and Fiscal Responsibility Act

“In December, with President Trump’s leadership, we passed historic tax cuts and put money back in the pockets of West Tennesseans, instead of Washington bureaucrats.”

D Democratic Heidi Kuhn

Protects family farms and opposes tariffs

Kuhn supports West Tennessee agriculture by opposing tariffs on equipment and fertilizer that inflate production costs and spark retaliatory trade measures. She calls for a stronger Farm Bill safety net for small farmers, expanding high-speed internet in rural areas, and protecting soybean production. She also vows to tackle equipment repair monopolies.

• Oppose tariffs on agricultural equipment and fertilizer that trigger retaliatory tariffs
• Advocate for a Farm Bill providing a stronger safety net for small family farms
• Target equipment repair monopolies like John Deere and CNH
• Expand high-speed internet and protect West Tennessee soybean production

“Agriculture is the backbone of West Tennessee's economy, and our farmers deserve a representative who understands the challenges they face, from rising input costs and unpredictable markets to limited access to healthcare and infrastructure.”

R Republican David Kustoff

Supports Farm Bill and ag protections

Kustoff emphasizes that Tennessee's 8th District is the top agriculture-producing district in the state and works to pass a strong Farm Bill. He advocates for federal policies that support local farmers and ranchers and hosted federal officials to showcase West Tennessee farming operations.

• Prioritize passing a strong Farm Bill with protections for farmers and ranchers
• Promote West Tennessee as the state's largest agricultural district
• Advocate for federal policies that secure domestic food and fuel production

“The Eighth District is the largest ag-producing district in the entire state of Tennessee, so I am working to pass a strong Farm Bill with protections for America’s farmers.”

D Democratic Heidi Kuhn

Protects Medicare, Medicaid, and rural hospitals

Kuhn prioritizes preserving entitlement programs and improving rural healthcare infrastructure. She pledges to repeal cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, establish out-of-pocket caps on prescription drugs, and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for price increases. She highlights that four rural hospitals in West Tennessee closed during Kustoff's tenure in Congress.

• Repeal cuts to Medicare and Medicaid
• Cap out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and hold pharmaceutical companies accountable
• Increase funding for rural healthcare infrastructure to prevent hospital closures

“Heidi will repeal cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that are stripping health coverage from seniors and working families across Tennessee”

R Republican David Kustoff

Repeals Obamacare individual mandate and ACA

Kustoff favors free-market health policies and voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate tax. He advocates for dismantling Obamacare entirely to expand healthcare choices and lower costs. In Congress, he serves on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health.

• Voted to repeal the Obamacare Individual Mandate Tax
• Advocates for dismantling the Affordable Care Act
• Serves on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health

“I am proud we repealed the Obamacare Individual Mandate Tax. This means you are no longer forced by the government to buy insurance you don’t want or need.”

D Democratic Heidi Kuhn

Opposes unnecessary foreign wars

Kuhn pledges to oppose foreign military conflicts and vote to end wars such as the conflict in Iran, linking military actions to increased domestic fuel and fertilizer costs for farmers. She also vows to stand up against foreign intervention policies.

• Vote to end the war in Iran to reduce fertilizer and fuel costs
• Oppose unnecessary foreign wars and overseas military engagements
• Stand up to executive foreign policy decisions that harm domestic economic interests

“Heidi will vote to end the a war that has hit fertilizer and fuel costs hard, unlike Kustoff who has kept voting to keep this war going.”

R Republican David Kustoff

Supports military funding and Israel

Kustoff prioritizes military readiness and consistent defense funding, supporting troop pay raises and operations against terrorist organizations like ISIS. He strongly supports Israel as the primary democracy in the Middle East and opposes the Iran Nuclear Deal.

• Voted consistently to fully fund the U.S. military and approve troop pay increases
• Strongly supports Israel and opposes the Iran Nuclear Deal
• Supported military action against ISIS forces in the Middle East

“Israel is THE democracy in the Middle East. If Israel fails, democracy in the Middle East fails. The Iran Deal is a threat to our interest and Israel’s interest. We must always support Israel.”

D Democratic Heidi Kuhn

Supports rehabilitation, expungement, and community trust

Drawing on her background as Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk, Kuhn focuses public safety on crime prevention, second chances, and rebuilding trust with law enforcement. She advocates expanding access to expungement, reducing employment barriers for past offenders, and addressing underlying causes like poverty and mental health.

• Expand expungement access and remove employment barriers for former offenders
• Invest in reentry programs, crime prevention, and law enforcement trust-building
• Address social root causes of crime including poverty, trauma, and mental health access

“I support expanding access to expungement, reducing unnecessary barriers to employment, and creating pathways that strengthen both families and communities while improving public safety.”

R Republican David Kustoff

Supports strict law enforcement and prosecution

Kustoff emphasizes strict law enforcement and public corruption prosecution, drawing on his experience as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. During his tenure, he led prosecutions in the Tennessee Waltz corruption trials, advocated for the death penalty, and enforced criminal deportations.

• Prosecuted public corruption in the Tennessee Waltz trials
• Advocated for the death penalty and law enforcement violent crime initiatives
• Enforced criminal deportations during tenure as federal prosecutor

“As the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee under President Bush, I set my sights on cleaning up government and public corruption, and fighting violent crime and drugs.”

D Democratic Heidi Kuhn

Supports releasing unredacted Epstein files

Kuhn calls for transparency and accountability in government, advocating for the full, unredacted release of the Epstein files. She also focuses on protecting sexual assault victims and holding elected officials accountable for their actions.

• Support releasing unmodified and unredacted Epstein files
• Protect sexual assault victims and hold officeholders accountable

“Heidi supports releasing the unmodified and unredacted Epstein files, and will work to help end sexual assaults on women”

R Republican David Kustoff

Voted for Epstein files disclosure

Kustoff voted in favor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R. 4405) in Congress to require the Department of Justice to publish unclassified investigative materials in a searchable format. He also points to his career prosecuting public corruption as a federal attorney.

• Voted Yea on the Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R. 4405), which passed 427-1
• Highlighted past record prosecuting public corruption in West Tennessee

“As the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee under President Bush, I set my sights on cleaning up government and public corruption”

D Democratic Heidi Kuhn

Supports equitable school funding and early childhood education

Kuhn advocates for public education reform, arguing that school quality should not depend on location. She supports equitable school funding, expanding early childhood education, and creating technical and college career pathways.

• Fund public schools equitably regardless of zip code
• Expand early childhood education programs
• Build career and college pathways from early education through higher learning

“Education is the greatest equalizer, and in a just society, it should never be determined by your zip code.”

R Republican David Kustoff

Opposes Common Core and federal mandates

Kustoff favors local control over public education and opposes federal mandates like Common Core. As a public school graduate, he supports public schools while voting for legislation restricting biological males from participating in female school athletics.

• Oppose Common Core and national educational mandates
• Support local control for teachers and local school boards
• Voted Yea on the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 (H.R. 28)

“Local folks know best – our teachers don’t need any national mandates.”

D Democratic Heidi Kuhn

Supports living wages and organized labor

Kuhn makes protecting labor rights a core component of her platform. She pledges to co-sponsor the Raise the Wage Act to increase the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour by 2030 and support the PRO Act to strengthen union collective bargaining. She also opposes cuts or privatization of Social Security.

• Co-sponsor the Raise the Wage Act to raise the federal minimum wage to $17 by 2030
• Sign onto the PRO Act to strengthen collective bargaining and union rights
• Protect Social Security retirement benefits from cuts and privatization

“Every worker deserves fair wages, safe working conditions, and the freedom to organize and bargain collectively.”

R Republican David Kustoff

Supports border wall and strict enforcement

Kustoff views border security as essential to national security, drug prevention, and anti-terrorism efforts. He voted for border wall construction, supported mandatory E-Verify for employers, and voted for legislation requiring the detention of non-citizens arrested for theft or DUI.

• Voted to fund border wall construction and strengthen law enforcement at the border
• Voted Yea on the Laken Riley Act (S. 5) to detain non-citizens arrested for theft or burglary
• Voted Yea on the Secure the Border Act of 2023 (H.R. 2) and SAVE Act (H.R. 22)

“We must stop illegal immigration and put an end to drug trafficking and the spread of opioids.”

R Republican David Kustoff

Pro-life, supports traditional marriage and gun rights

Kustoff holds conservative social principles, stating that life begins at conception and defining marriage as between one man and one woman. He also strongly defends gun rights under the Second Amendment.

• Believes life begins at conception
• Defends marriage as between a man and a woman
• Supports an unequivocal constitutional right to keep and bear arms

“I believe life begins at conception, I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, and I believe we have an unequivocal constitutional right to keep and bear arms.”