U.S. House, Tennessee 2nd Congressional District · Election November 3, 2026 · Updated
Who should I vote for in Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District?
Tim Burchett has the strongest record in Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District. Tim Burchett scores 67 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Tim Burchett's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Michaela Barnett (7 of 15 criteria), Bruce Fine (3 of 15 criteria) and Adam Heimerman (3 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Democratic
Michaela Barnett
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 7 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 63
- Qualifications
- 55
- Performance
- NR
Republican · incumbent
Strongest record
Tim Burchett
67 / 100
Public evidence on 13 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 80
- Performance
- 69
Independent
Bruce Fine
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 3 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Independent
Adam Heimerman
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 3 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- 58
- Performance
- NR
The good, the bad and the unresolved
The record
The notable facts of each candidate's public life, each tied to a source and confirmed to be this person. Unresolved matters are labeled with where they stand and do not move a score.
Michaela Barnett
- On the record2025-11-05
Hosted a public town hall on the federal government shutdown in Knoxville after inviting Rep. Tim Burchett, who declined.
Source: WBIR via MSN, Nov. 5, 2025
- On the record2025-09
Entered the race after a congressional policy fellowship and work for Rep. Paul Tonko; she was executive director of the advocacy group Blue Tennessee.
Source: Knox News, Sept. 24, 2025
Tim Burchett
- On the record2026-09
Publicly disagreed with President Trump's statement that communities opposing data centers want to be "backwards and poor."
Source: Knox News, Sept. 9, 2026
- On the record2025-11-05
Declined an invitation to a Knoxville town hall on the government shutdown hosted by his Democratic opponent.
Source: WBIR via MSN, Nov. 5, 2025
- On the record2023-10-03
Voted Yea on the October 2023 resolution declaring the office of Speaker vacant, which removed Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Source: House Clerk Roll Call 519, 2023
- On the record2020-12
Signed the House amicus brief supporting Texas v. Pennsylvania, and on Jan. 6, 2021 voted Yea on the objections to Arizona's and Pennsylvania's electors.
Sources: Texas v. Pennsylvania, amicus brief of 126 representatives (Dec. 2020), House Clerk Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021
- Credit2023-12-22
His Preventing Child Sex Abuse Act was enacted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024.
Bruce Fine
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Adam Heimerman
- Unresolved2026-07-31
Charged with four counts of felony vandalism for allegedly shooting four license plate reader cameras in Blount County in July 2026; held on $40,000 bond.
Where it stands: Pending as of Aug. 5, 2026, when a judge reset the case to Sept. 9, 2026; later status not found.
Who they are
Character
Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
Michaela Barnett. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 17, 2026, and House candidate financial disclosures were filed in December 2025 and July 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, House Clerk financial disclosure index, 2026, FEC administrative fines search
Tim Burchett. Annual financial disclosure for 2025 filed Aug. 12, 2026; campaign reports on file with the FEC. No House Ethics Committee matter or FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: House Clerk financial disclosure, Filing ID 10075225, House Committee on Ethics site search, FEC administrative fines search
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
Michaela Barnett. No public record found.
Tim Burchett. Voted to vacate Speaker McCarthy in 2023, against the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the 2024 Ukraine supplemental when GOP leaders voted yes, and publicly disagreed with President Trump on data centers in 2026.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 519, 2023 (motion to vacate), House Clerk Roll Call 243, 2023 (Fiscal Responsibility Act), House Clerk Roll Call 151, 2024 (Ukraine supplemental), Knox News, Sept. 9, 2026
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
Michaela Barnett. Held an open public town hall in Knoxville on the 2025 government shutdown after inviting the incumbent, per WBIR.
Source: WBIR via MSN, Nov. 5, 2025
Tim Burchett. No public record found.
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
Michaela Barnett. No public record found.
Tim Burchett. State legislator from 1994 to 2010, Knox County mayor from 2010 to 2018 and in Congress since 2019. No censure, reprimand or House Ethics Committee matter found.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Tim Burchett, House Committee on Ethics site search
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
Fidelity to the oath
Uses power inside its limits: accepts certified results, obeys court rulings, follows the rules of the office.
Michaela Barnett. No public record found.
Tim Burchett. Voted Yea on the Jan. 6, 2021 objections to Arizona's and Pennsylvania's certified electors (E2). Also signed the December 2020 House amicus brief in Texas v. Pennsylvania.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021 (Arizona objection), House Clerk Roll Call 11, Jan. 7, 2021 (Pennsylvania objection), Texas v. Pennsylvania, amicus brief of 126 representatives (Dec. 2020)
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
What they bring
Qualifications
Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
Michaela Barnett. Engineer who runs the refill business KnoxFill, worked for Rep. Paul Tonko on constituent policy issues and was executive director of Blue Tennessee. Has not held public office.
Source: Knox News, Sept. 24, 2025
Tim Burchett. In Congress since 2019, seeking a fifth term; earlier Knox County mayor and 16 years in the state legislature.
Source: Ballotpedia, Tim Burchett
Bruce Fine. Farmer, marine mechanic and journalist with a University of Florida degree, by his own account. Has not held public office.
Source: Ballotpedia, Bruce Fine
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
Michaela Barnett. Publishes priorities on the economy, health care and data center regulation, mostly in general terms.
Sources: Campaign site, Knox News, Sept. 9, 2026
Tim Burchett. Chairs the Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency; publishes issue pages on his House site.
Bruce Fine. States priorities on the cost of living, local clinics and hospitals, the federal debt and education, in general terms.
Source: Ballotpedia, Bruce Fine
Adam Heimerman. Publishes a platform page in general terms.
Source: Campaign site
Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
Michaela Barnett. Completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey, publishes a priorities page and has held a public town hall.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Michaela Barnett, Campaign site, WBIR via MSN, Nov. 5, 2025
Tim Burchett. Offers an e-newsletter and publishes issue pages on his House site. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: House office site, Ballotpedia, Tim Burchett
Bruce Fine. Completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
Source: Ballotpedia, Bruce Fine
Adam Heimerman. Completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey and publishes a campaign site.
Source: Ballotpedia, Adam Heimerman
Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
Michaela Barnett. South Knoxville resident. About 94 percent of itemized individual contributions by state for 2025 to 2026 came from Tennessee (FEC).
Sources: Knox News, Sept. 24, 2025, FEC contribution totals by state
Tim Burchett. Born in Knoxville and a former Knox County mayor. About 67 percent of itemized individual contributions by state for 2025 to 2026 came from Tennessee (FEC).
Sources: Ballotpedia, Tim Burchett, FEC contribution totals by state
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. Raised in Loudon County and a Lenoir City High School graduate; lives in Lenoir City.
Management
Can build and run an organization.
Michaela Barnett. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 17, 2026, with $6,000 in debts reported. No FEC administrative fine found.
Source: FEC candidate page
Tim Burchett. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 17, 2026, with $23,686.61 in debts. Led Knox County government as mayor for eight years.
Source: FEC candidate page
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
What they deliver
Performance
Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
Michaela Barnett. No public record found.
Tim Burchett. Center for Effective Lawmaking: LES 2.0 of 1.253 against a benchmark of 1.198 in the 118th Congress, meets expectations. His Preventing Child Sex Abuse Act was enacted in the 2024 defense authorization.
Sources: Center for Effective Lawmaking House dataset, 93rd to 118th Congress (Burchett TN02 row, 118th), GovTrack, H.R. 454 (118th Congress)
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
Michaela Barnett. No public record found.
Tim Burchett. Missed 67 of 3,869 roll call votes, 1.7 percent, from January 2019 to September 2026.
Source: GovTrack, missed votes
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
Michaela Barnett. No public record found.
Tim Burchett. Lists district offices in Knoxville and Maryville and offers help with federal agencies. No published casework totals found.
Source: House office site
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
Michaela Barnett. No public record found.
Tim Burchett. Lugar Center Bipartisan Index score of 0.04398 in the latest posted House scores (118th Congress, 2023), ranked 122 of 436.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
Michaela Barnett. No public record found.
Tim Burchett. No public record found.
Bruce Fine. No public record found.
Adam Heimerman. No public record found.
How to read this
Each criterion is scored 0 to 4 against the written rubric in the Ballot Standard. NR means no record: there is no reliable public evidence either way, so the criterion is left out and never counts against the candidate. A total is published when at least 8 of 15 criteria have evidence.
A sitting officeholder has a longer public record than a first-time candidate, so the two totals rest on different amounts of evidence. Read the count of criteria beside each score. Low marks require an official finding or a primary record. Allegations and opinion are not used.
No policy position is scored. Evidence checked October 9, 2026. Campaigns and readers can send a correction with a public source to tpg@thepoliticalgroup.com.
Questions
Who should I vote for in Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District?
Tim Burchett has the strongest record in Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District. Tim Burchett scores 67 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Tim Burchett's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Michaela Barnett (7 of 15 criteria), Bruce Fine (3 of 15 criteria) and Adam Heimerman (3 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Who is running in Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District in 2026?
Michaela Barnett (Democratic), Tim Burchett (Republican, incumbent), Bruce Fine (Independent), Adam Heimerman (Independent). The general election is November 3, 2026.
Is Michaela Barnett a good candidate for Congress?
Michaela Barnett has public evidence on 7 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Tim Burchett a good candidate for Congress?
Tim Burchett scores 67 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 13 of 15 criteria: character 50 of 100, qualifications 80 of 100, performance 69 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
Is Bruce Fine a good candidate for Congress?
Bruce Fine has public evidence on 3 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Adam Heimerman a good candidate for Congress?
Adam Heimerman has public evidence on 3 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
How is the strongest record decided?
The candidate with the highest Ballot Standard score has the strongest record. Each of 15 criteria on character, qualifications and performance is scored 0 to 4 from public records and established reporting, the same way for every party. No policy position is scored, and unresolved accusations never move a score.
More on this race: every Tennessee race scored, the trailing candidate's path to victory, and the Tennessee 2026 election guide. Independent scorecard by The Political Group, not affiliated with any candidate or party.