U.S. House, Tennessee 8th Congressional District · Election November 3, 2026 · Updated
Who should I vote for in Tennessee's 8th Congressional District?
David Kustoff has the strongest record in Tennessee's 8th Congressional District. David Kustoff scores 62 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, ahead of Heidi Kuhn at 61, as of October 9, 2026. David Kustoff's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Heidi Kuhn's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Adam D. Austill (2 of 15 criteria), Wendell "Wells" Blankenship (0 of 15 criteria), Antonio Futch (0 of 15 criteria), Pamela Moses (1 of 15 criteria), Horace Taylor (4 of 15 criteria) and Henry J. Ward III (0 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.
Independent
Adam D. Austill
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 2 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Independent
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 0 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- NR
- Performance
- NR
Independent
Antonio Futch
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 0 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- NR
- Performance
- NR
Democratic
Heidi Kuhn
61 / 100
Public evidence on 9 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 63
- Performance
- 75
Republican · incumbent
Strongest record
David Kustoff
62 / 100
Public evidence on 13 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 44
- Qualifications
- 75
- Performance
- 63
Independent
Pamela Moses
On the ballot as Pamela Jeanine "P." Moses
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 1 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Independent
Horace Taylor
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 4 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Independent
Henry J. Ward III
On the ballot as Henry J. Ward, III
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 0 of 15 criteria
- Character
- NR
- Qualifications
- NR
- 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.
Adam D. Austill
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Antonio Futch
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Heidi Kuhn
- Credit2025-11-13
Named 2025 Tennessee Court Clerk of the Year by the County Officials Association of Tennessee, selected among 204 court clerks statewide.
Source: FOX13 Memphis, Nov. 13, 2025
- Credit2025-11
Her office's quarterly expungement clinics helped nearly 10,000 people clear charges from 2018 to 2025, according to Shelby County.
Sources: FOX13 Memphis, Nov. 13, 2025, Action News 5, June 10, 2023
David Kustoff
- On the record2021-01
Signed the December 2020 Texas v. Pennsylvania House amicus brief; on Jan. 6 and 7, 2021 voted Nay on the Arizona objection and Yea on the Pennsylvania objection to certified electoral votes.
Sources: U.S. Supreme Court docket No. 155, Original, amicus brief filed Dec. 11, 2020, House Clerk Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 11, Jan. 7, 2021
- Credit2026-10-07
Sponsored H.R. 5345, the Improving Social Security's Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act, signed into law on Oct. 7, 2026.
Sources: GovTrack, H.R. 5345 (119th Congress), GovTrack, David Kustoff
- Credit2019-12-30
Sponsored H.R. 1602, the TRACED Act on robocalls; its Senate companion, S. 151, was signed into law on Dec. 30, 2019.
Pamela Moses
- On the record2022-04-22
Convicted in November 2021 of illegally registering to vote in 2019 and sentenced to six years; a judge ordered a new trial in February 2022 and prosecutors dropped the charge in April 2022.
Sources: WGCU (NPR, AP), April 23, 2022, Action News 5, March 12, 2022
Horace Taylor
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Henry J. Ward III
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Who they are
Character
Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 17, 2026, and a 2026 House candidate financial disclosure is on file. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, House Clerk candidate financial disclosure, Filing ID 10081428, FEC administrative fines search
David Kustoff. Annual financial disclosure for 2025 is on file, filed Aug. 13, 2026 after an extension. No House Ethics Committee matter or FEC administrative fine against his committee found.
Sources: House Clerk financial disclosure, Filing ID 10076393, House Committee on Ethics site search for Kustoff, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00614826
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. No public record found.
David Kustoff. Voted Nay on the January 2021 objection to Arizona's electoral votes when Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy and Whip Steve Scalise voted Yea.
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. No public record found.
David Kustoff. No public record found.
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. Elected Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk in 2018 and served until September 2026. No censure, reprimand or conduct finding found.
Source: Ballotpedia, Heidi Kuhn
David Kustoff. Former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and in the House since 2017. No censure, reprimand or House Ethics Committee matter found.
Sources: Office site, About, House Committee on Ethics site search for Kustoff
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. 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.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. Held sworn county office as Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk from 2018 to 2026. No misuse-of-office finding found.
Source: Ballotpedia, Heidi Kuhn
David Kustoff. Voted Yea on the Jan. 7, 2021 objection to Pennsylvania's certified electoral votes, after voting Nay on the Arizona objection, and signed the December 2020 Texas v. Pennsylvania House amicus brief.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 11, Jan. 7, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Supreme Court docket No. 155, Original, amicus brief filed Dec. 11, 2020
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. Served in the U.S. Army from 1981 to 2012 and describes himself as a retired Army officer. No misuse-of-office finding found.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Horace Taylor, Campaign site
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
What they bring
Qualifications
Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk for two terms, 2018 to 2026, an elected county office.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Heidi Kuhn, FOX13 Memphis, Nov. 13, 2025
David Kustoff. In his fifth term in the U.S. House for the 8th District since 2017; earlier U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.
Source: Office site, About
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. Thirty-one years of Army service and a career as an information technology and cybersecurity professional; has not held elected office.
Source: Ballotpedia, Horace Taylor
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
Adam D. Austill. States campaign goals in general terms, including public financing of elections to limit money in politics.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. Publishes specific proposals, including expanding the Child Tax Credit and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and opposing tariffs on farm equipment and fertilizer.
Source: Campaign site, Issues
David Kustoff. Serves on the Ways and Means Committee and its Tax and Health subcommittees; no chair post.
Sources: Office site, About, GovTrack, David Kustoff
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. States priorities in general terms, including independence from party-line voting and cost of living.
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
Adam D. Austill. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026.
Source: Ballotpedia, Adam Austill
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026 and publishes plain-language issue pages.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Heidi Kuhn, Campaign site, Issues
David Kustoff. Offers an email newsletter and issue pages on his House site and speaks at public civic meetings such as the Jackson Rotary Club.
Pamela Moses. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026.
Source: Ballotpedia, Pamela Moses
Horace Taylor. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026 and publishes a campaign site with priorities.
Source: Ballotpedia, Horace Taylor
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. No public record found.
David Kustoff. Born and raised in Shelby County and lives in Germantown, per his House biography. FEC by-state totals show about 74 percent of itemized individual contributions from Tennessee.
Sources: Office site, About, FEC contribution totals by state
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Management
Can build and run an organization.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. Ran the Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk's office for eight years; campaign reports are on file with the FEC with no administrative fine found.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Heidi Kuhn, FEC administrative fines search
David Kustoff. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 17, 2026. No FEC administrative fine against his committee found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search, committee C00614826
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
What they deliver
Performance
Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. Named 2025 Tennessee Court Clerk of the Year by the County Officials Association of Tennessee among 204 court clerks; the state clerks association president credited her with fixing problems in the office.
Source: FOX13 Memphis, Nov. 13, 2025
David Kustoff. Center for Effective Lawmaking rates him Meets expectations for the 118th Congress (LES 2.0 of 0.61 against a 1.20 benchmark). Sponsored H.R. 5345, signed into law Oct. 7, 2026; GovTrack lists 6 enacted bills he sponsored.
Sources: Center for Effective Lawmaking House dataset, 93rd to 118th Congress, GovTrack, David Kustoff, Office site, home page
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. No public record found.
David Kustoff. Missed 99 of 5,079 roll call votes, 1.9 percent, from January 2017 to September 2026.
Source: GovTrack, missed votes
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. Her office ran quarterly expungement clinics that helped nearly 10,000 people clear charges since 2018, per the county.
Sources: FOX13 Memphis, Nov. 13, 2025, Action News 5, June 10, 2023
David Kustoff. Operates district offices in Memphis, Jackson and Martin and offers help with federal agencies. No published casework totals found.
Sources: Office site, About, Office site, home page
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. No public record found.
David Kustoff. Lugar Center Bipartisan Index score of -0.44921 in the latest posted House scores (118th Congress), ranked 212, a negative score outside the bottom quarter.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. No public record found.
Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
Adam D. Austill. No public record found.
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship. No public record found.
Antonio Futch. No public record found.
Heidi Kuhn. No public record found.
David Kustoff. No public record found.
Pamela Moses. No public record found.
Horace Taylor. No public record found.
Henry J. Ward III. 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 8th Congressional District?
David Kustoff has the strongest record in Tennessee's 8th Congressional District. David Kustoff scores 62 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, ahead of Heidi Kuhn at 61, as of October 9, 2026. David Kustoff's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Heidi Kuhn's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Adam D. Austill (2 of 15 criteria), Wendell "Wells" Blankenship (0 of 15 criteria), Antonio Futch (0 of 15 criteria), Pamela Moses (1 of 15 criteria), Horace Taylor (4 of 15 criteria) and Henry J. Ward III (0 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 8th Congressional District in 2026?
Adam D. Austill (Independent), Wendell "Wells" Blankenship (Independent), Antonio Futch (Independent), Heidi Kuhn (Democratic), David Kustoff (Republican, incumbent), Pamela Moses (Independent), Horace Taylor (Independent), Henry J. Ward III (Independent). The general election is November 3, 2026.
Is Adam D. Austill a good candidate for Congress?
Adam D. Austill has public evidence on 2 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 Wendell "Wells" Blankenship a good candidate for Congress?
Wendell "Wells" Blankenship has public evidence on 0 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 Antonio Futch a good candidate for Congress?
Antonio Futch has public evidence on 0 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 Heidi Kuhn a good candidate for Congress?
Heidi Kuhn scores 61 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 9 of 15 criteria: character 50 of 100, qualifications 63 of 100, performance 75 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
Is David Kustoff a good candidate for Congress?
David Kustoff scores 62 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 13 of 15 criteria: character 44 of 100, qualifications 75 of 100, performance 63 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
Is Pamela Moses a good candidate for Congress?
Pamela Moses has public evidence on 1 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 Horace Taylor a good candidate for Congress?
Horace Taylor has public evidence on 4 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 Henry J. Ward III a good candidate for Congress?
Henry J. Ward III has public evidence on 0 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.