Upset Brief · TN-05 · Chaz Molder (D) vs. Charlie Hatcher (R)
Molder can win. The plan uses 89 percent of what history allows.
4%
odds today
52%
odds with the plan
18,268
net votes to find
36
days left; voting starts October 14
Where
- 01+443Precinct 09-04 (Shelby County)Starting line Molder +98. 3.4% split their ticket. About 949 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
- 02+437Precinct 09-09 (Shelby County)Starting line Molder +96. 3.2% split their ticket. About 927 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
- 03+419Precinct 09-03 (Shelby County)Starting line Molder +98. 4.7% split their ticket. About 943 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
- 04+413Precinct 07-01 (Shelby County)Starting line Molder +90. 3.5% split their ticket. About 1,029 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
- 05+404Precinct 09-06 (Shelby County)Starting line Molder +98. 3.9% split their ticket. About 893 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
- 06+391Precinct 07-06 (Shelby County)Starting line Molder +95. 1.9% split their ticket. About 838 more ballots in 2024 than in 2022 (estimate).
The top 12 precincts carry 25% of the plan.
How
- P+11,694Persuade13,131 voters in play: ticket splitters now leaning Hatcher, plus the 12 percent still undecided in the latest poll.
- M+6,884MobilizeAt least 33,333 people who voted in 2024 but not in 2022, in precincts where Molder's side wins at least 55 percent.
- C+604ConsolidateVoters who went third party in recent races, in the precincts that lean Molder's way.
What has to be true
- Molder wins 45 percent of the ticket splitters and undecided voters now leaning Hatcher.
- In Precinct 09-04 (Shelby County) and Precinct 09-03 (Shelby County), 31 percent of the people who voted in 2024 but skipped 2022 come back and vote.
- No national wave is required. The plan uses 89 percent of what recent Tennessee results show is possible.
- The starting line comes from the published 2026 head-to-head polls between these two finalists, sponsored ones included; if the true gap is different, so is the plan.
The numbers behind it
- 01Crossover regression222 precincts, R² 0.999, 36 crossover precincts identified
- 02Monte Carlo20,000 seeded simulated elections with a 5-point baseline error. 90% range of the final margin with the plan: -17,942 to 19,995 votes.
- 03Money, FEC candidate totals through July 17Molder $1,482,196 cash on hand; Hatcher $104,821.
- 04Call program for this list33,517 households, 100,551 dials, about 5,269 live conversations: an estimated $10,789 at published rates.
Independent analysis by The Political Group from official Tennessee Secretary of State precinct returns (2022 and 2024), FEC filings and published polls, as of September 27, 2026. Not affiliated with any candidate or party.