The Tennessee Firearms Association has released the results of its 2026 candidate survey for candidates for the Tennessee Legislature.
The survey was provided to candidates as an opportunity to state, in writing, their positions on specific Second Amendment, constitutional-rights, judicial-review, firearms-law, due-process, preemption, and firearms-commerce issues that may come before Tennessee’s next governor and the Tennessee General Assembly. A blank copy of the survey is attached for reference so that TFA members, supporters, voters, and the public can review the actual questions and assess the responses for themselves.
How the Survey Was Scored
The survey uses an objective scoring method. There are no subjective ratings. There are no discretionary adjustments. There is no grading curve. The published score is based solely on whether the candidate returned the survey and, for candidates who returned it, the number of affirmative responses.
For purposes of the score:
– A “YES” response is counted as one point.
– An “I WILL LEAD ON THIS ISSUE” response is counted as one point.
– A blank response, “NO” response, or unanswered question is counted as zero points.
The results report includes only candidates who returned the survey. Any candidate who did not return the survey is omitted from the report.
What the Survey Covers
The 2026 survey includes 27 scored questions. The issues include:
Pre-enforcement constitutional challenges to statutes, rules, executive orders, and other state action.
Possible amendments to the Tennessee Constitution concerning the right to keep and bear arms and the method of selecting Tennessee’s Attorney General and Reporter.
Repeal of Tennessee’s “intent to go armed” statute.
Repeal of Tennessee’s restrictions on weapons in parks and certain public recreational areas.
Carry rights for adults ages 18 to 20.
Long-gun carry, posted-property penalties, local-government restrictions, carry in the State Capitol, carry in local-government offices and meeting places, carry on public college and university property, and carry on K-12 school property.
Secure firearm storage at government properties where lawful carry is prohibited.
Due-process protections in justified-use-of-force cases.
Restoration of rights after misdemeanor and nonviolent felony convictions.
Restrictions on confiscation, dispossession, or compelled surrender of firearms without a criminal conviction.
Preemption, firearms-related use of public facilities, executive-branch agency authority, TICS fees, conditional-proceed transactions, use of public resources to advocate against Second Amendment rights or constitutional review, remedies for preemption violations, and emergency-powers restrictions.
TFA encourages readers to review the attached blank survey, not merely the score. The questions themselves are significant because they identify concrete policy issues that may arise during the 2026 election cycle and the next gubernatorial term.
Important Notice: Informational Only
The Tennessee Firearms Association is publishing these survey results for informational purposes only. The survey results and scores should not be construed as an endorsement of, support for, opposition to, or recommendation regarding any candidate.
The survey does not rank candidates by personal preference. It does not evaluate campaign strategy, electability, fundraising, party affiliation, personal character, public speaking, or any issue outside the written survey responses. It reports only whether a candidate returned the survey and, if so, the number of “YES” and “I WILL LEAD ON THIS ISSUE” responses provided by that candidate.
TFA encourages voters to review the survey questions, review the reported responses, examine each candidate’s public record, and make their own independent voting decisions.
Review the Survey and Results
A blank copy of the 2026 Tennessee Candidate Survey is attached for reference. TFA is providing the blank survey so that readers can see the exact questions asked and assess the reported scores in context.
