Lawrence Pivnick

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Lawrence Pivnick

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 1, 2024

Education

High school

Midwood High School

Bachelor's

State University of New York, Buffalo, 1969

Law

University of Florida, 1972

Personal

Profession

Law professor

Contact

Campaign website

Personal Facebook

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Lawrence Pivnick (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Tennessee's 8th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 1, 2024.

Pivnick completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Lawrence Pivnick earned a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York, Buffalo in 1969. He earned a law degree from the University of Florida in 1972. His career experience includes working as a law professor.

Elections

2024

See also: Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2024

Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 1 Democratic primary)

Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 1 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff defeated Sarah Freeman and James Hart in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff (R)	72.3	240,411
		Sarah Freeman (D)	25.6	85,043
		James Hart (Independent)	2.1	6,861

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 332,315
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Sarah Freeman defeated Brenda Woods, Lynnette Williams, Leonard Perkins, and Lawrence Pivnick in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sarah Freeman	33.7	5,552
	Submit photo	Brenda Woods	27.8	4,580
	Submit photo	Lynnette Williams	17.5	2,887
		Leonard Perkins	13.1	2,160
		Lawrence Pivnick	7.8	1,279

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,458
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff	100.0	55,809

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 55,809
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• George Flinn Jr. (R)

Endorsements

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Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Pivnick in this election.

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Shelby County, Tennessee (2022)

General election

General election for Shelby County General Sessions Court Division 1

Incumbent Lynn Cobb defeated Victoria Gillard and Lawrence Pivnick in the general election for Shelby County General Sessions Court Division 1 on August 4, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lynn Cobb (Nonpartisan)	60.0	69,420
	Submit photo	Victoria Gillard (Nonpartisan)	28.0	32,391
		Lawrence Pivnick (Nonpartisan)	11.9	13,805
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	142

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 115,758
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2020

Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 6 Democratic primary)

Tennessee's 8th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 6 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff defeated Erika Stotts Pearson, James Hart, and Jon Dillard in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff (R)	68.5	227,216
		Erika Stotts Pearson (D)	29.5	97,890
		James Hart (Independent)	1.1	3,763
		Jon Dillard (Independent)	0.9	2,984

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 331,853
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Erika Stotts Pearson defeated Savannah Williamson, Lawrence Pivnick, and Hollis Skinner in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Erika Stotts Pearson	51.1	14,510
	Submit photo	Savannah Williamson	20.4	5,788
		Lawrence Pivnick	16.5	4,685
	Submit photo	Hollis Skinner	11.9	3,389

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,372 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8

Incumbent David Kustoff advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 8 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Kustoff	100.0	70,677

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 70,677
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Shelby County, Tennessee (2018)

General election

General election for Shelby County Board of Commissioners District 5

Michael Whaley defeated Richard Morton in the general election for Shelby County Board of Commissioners District 5 on August 2, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Whaley (D)	51.3	5,190
	Submit photo	Richard Morton (R)	48.6	4,920
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	12

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,122
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Shelby County Board of Commissioners District 5

Michael Whaley defeated Lawrence Pivnick in the Democratic primary for Shelby County Board of Commissioners District 5 on May 1, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Whaley	83.3	1,612
		Lawrence Pivnick	16.7	323

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,935
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Shelby County Board of Commissioners District 5

Richard Morton defeated Geoffrey Diaz in the Republican primary for Shelby County Board of Commissioners District 5 on May 1, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Richard Morton	60.9	1,381
	Submit photo	Geoffrey Diaz	39.1	888

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,269
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Tennessee House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 4, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 7, 2016.

Incumbent Mark White defeated Lawrence Pivnick in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 83 general election.

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 83 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mark White Incumbent	64.00%	16,900
	Democratic	Lawrence Pivnick	36.00%	9,506
Total Votes				26,406
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State

Lawrence Pivnick ran unopposed in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 83 Democratic primary.

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 83 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Lawrence Pivnick  (unopposed)

Incumbent Mark White ran unopposed in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 83 Republican primary.

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 83 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Mark White Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also: Tennessee's 8th Congressional District elections, 2014

Pivnick ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Tennessee's 8th District. He was defeated in the Democratic primary.

U.S. House, Tennessee District 8 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Wes Bradley	34.7%	9,400
Rickey Hobson	33.3%	9,014
Tom Reasons	20.5%	5,547
Lawrence Pivnick	11.5%	3,105
Total Votes		27,066
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lawrence Pivnick completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pivnick's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Larry Pivnick and I am a University of Memphis Emeritus Professor of Law and was the founder and director of the Law School's . free legal clinic program. I was president of the UM Faculty Senate and served as the University's Faculty Ombudsperson. Since retiring, i have served as president and on the executive committee of the UM Association of Retires, a leader of MICAH (Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope, and on the Steering Committees of the Shelby County Democratic Party and Germantown Democratic Club. I continue too provide free legal services, and I sing as a baritone with Memphis Choral Arts, an interfaith and interracial chorus.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• If elected, I pledge to represent ALL of West Tennessee’s city, village and rural people, not just wealthy individuals and big corporation, most of who seem hell bent in destroying the working and middle classes and the needy by jacking up prices and inflation and by not paying their fair share of taxes .
• I will work to enact laws of national applicability to address the refusal of the Tennessee state government to honor its citizens’ liberty rights, e.g., the right to choose, the right to public education, the right to affordable health care, and the right to be free from gun violence, all of which would further the common good and general welfare.
• I am a staunch supporter of the rights of Israel and Ukraine to exist as independent democratic nations and defend themselves

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Liberty, Social Justice, Financial Security, Accessible Health Care, Israel

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

It is most important that an elected official be trustworthy, honest, free from financial conflicts of interest, attentive to the needs of all of his/her constituents, and open to cordial dialogue with persons with other opinions.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Atticus Finch

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

Each House member represents approximately the same number of people thereby allowing closer attention to various constituencies, whose interests need addressing. Shorter terms allow accountability and change.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Not necessarily.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The greatest challenges to the U.S. are preserving our democracy from a takeover by autocrats, monopolists, and extremists who place their self interests over the common good of the nation.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

yes

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I support term limits

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Hakeem Jeffries,

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I believe that compromise is desireable for policymaking.

What committees interest you?

Ways and Means, Civil Justice

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I support financial transparency and government accountability

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Pivnick’s campaign website stated the following:

“	Larry's Pivnick's Stance on Key Issues I am a “pro-choice” and privacy supporter, and I will fight for liberty within the bounds of due process, justice, the rule of law, and the rights of others in the community. I believe in the core principle that no one should face discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status. I support universal, affordable health care, including mental health care, economic security, fair living wages with benefits, lower prices, and lower interest rates. I support access to justice initiatives that fund free legal services to indigents to challenge unconscionable contract provisions and unfair and deceptive collection activities of many banks, payday lenders, used car dealers, and hospitals. I support regulating monopolists and oligarchs who manipulate prices and the supply of goods and services, which result in inflated prices for consumers and the destruction of competition. I support the reduction of income taxes paid by the working and middle classes, the closing of loopholes, and a raising of tax rates for big corporations and multi-million and billionaires, many of whom currently pay no taxes. I place a high priority on supporting quality public education, including technical schools, public safety, and veterans’ benefits. I strongly support the right of Israel and Ukraine to exist and to defend themselves against invasion and terrorist attacks, and I support the immediate release of all living hostages and POWs and the immediate return of the remains of deceased persons for proper burial. I support the controlled and authorized entry into the U.S. of well-vetted asylum seekers and refugees. I support the securing of U.S. borders to prevent the entry of unauthorized persons into the U.S. and their removal after a due process hearing unless a court orders otherwise or an amnesty law applies.	”
—Lawrence Pivnick’s campaign website (2024)

2022

Lawrence Pivnick did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Lawrence Pivnick did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Lawrence Pivnick campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Tennessee District 8	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
2020	U.S. House Tennessee District 8	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

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Candidate

U.S. House Tennessee District 8

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Footnotes

[show]

Tennessee's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Marsha Blackburn (R)

Bill Hagerty (R)

Representatives

District 1

Diana Harshbarger (R)

District 2

Tim Burchett (R)

District 3

Charles Fleischmann (R)

District 4

Scott DesJarlais (R)

District 5

Andy Ogles (R)

District 6

John Rose (R)

District 7

Mark Green (R)

District 8

David Kustoff (R)

District 9

Steve Cohen (D)

Republican Party (10)

Democratic Party (1)