Republican supermajority unchanged in Tennessee Statehouse but Democrats don’t give up ground
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Republican supermajority in the Tennessee Legislature will remain unchanged after Democrats failed to flip seats in a handful of competitive races, but the minority party has not given up any ground either.
Unofficial election results show that Republicans will continue to hold 75 of the 99 seats in the House of Representatives chamber, the same number the Republican Party had before Tuesday. In the Senate, Republicans will have 27 members, while Democrats will have only six.
“We were able to keep all 75 seats, which was a great thing despite the enormous amount of money spent on the other side,” House Speaker Cameron Sexton said Wednesday. “And we look forward to coming back with our supermajority intact at 75 and continuing what we’ve done to move Tennessee forward.”
Some Democratic officials expressed relief that their numbers did not drop Republicans won big victories nationallywith former President Donald Trump winning a second term and the Republican Party gaining control of the US Senate. In Tennessee, Trump and Republican U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn both increased their margins to nearly 30 percentage points, surpassing their previous state elections.
Blackburn defeated state Rep. Gloria Johnson. She was one of three Democratic lawmakers who turned the national spotlight on Tennessee after Republicans targeted them in an attack last year pushing eviction. They protested on the floor of the House of Representatives against changes in gun control after a deadly shooting at a Nashville elementary school.
In her concession speech Tuesday, Johnson promised supporters: “We are going to flip a number of seats in the state house.”
While they didn’t gain any ground, Democrats outperformed a tough election in key races, said Rep. John Ray Clemmons, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
“It may not seem like progress,” Clemmons said. “But in this environment, and given the national political headwinds we faced, holding the line was truly remarkable.”
Democrats had invested heavily in Allie Phillips’ attempt to flip a Republican-controlled seat in the House of Representatives north of Nashville. Phillips gained national fame when she shared on social media that she could not get an abortion in Tennessee due to a non-viable pregnancy under the state’s abortion ban and that she had to travel to Washington, D.C. to get the health care she needed.
Despite national media coverage of Phillips, Republican Rep. Jeff Burkhart won reelection by nearly 10 percentage points.
In Nashville, Democrat Shaundelle Brooks won an Open House seat, defeating Republican Chad Bobo. Republicans targeted the Democratic-controlled district in Tennessee’s liberal-leaning capital, but Brooks held a nearly eight-point lead over Bobo as of Wednesday.
Brooks’ son, Akilah DaSilva, was one of four people killed and two injured in a mass shooting at a Waffle House in Nashville in 2018. The tragedy launched Brooks’ advocacy for gun control in a state with lax gun laws.
But around Memphis, Democrats were unable to remove Republican control. Republican Rep. John Gillespie was re-elected by four percentage points over Democrat Jess Huseth.
With the Republican ranks unscathed, Republican Gov. Bill Lee and legislative leaders wasted no time in restarting their push for a universal school voucher program. On Wednesday, Lee and other key lawmakers unveiled a voucher proposal that would allow families to use public funds for private school education.
Lee had introduced a sweeping voucher proposal earlier this year but abandoned it amid Republican infighting over how it would be implemented.
It is unclear whether he will have more consensus in 2025. Lee took the extra step during the August primary, which supported Republican school choice advocates, and none of those candidates lost on Tuesday.
In neighboring Kentucky on Tuesday, voters decisively rejected a voucher-style ballot measure intended to allow state lawmakers to allocate public tax dollars to support students attending private or charter schools.
In addition, Tennessee voters approved several ballot initiatives ranging from gun control to public transportation improvements.
In Memphis, voters approved a nonbinding ballot measure that aimed to require permits to carry a handgun, ban the ownership of AR-15-style rifles and implement a so-called red flag ordinance, which allows law enforcement officers to carry firearms to get rid of those guns. appears to be an immediate danger to himself or others.
City officials and other supporters acknowledged that it would not be enacted without the support of Tennessee GOP lawmakers, who rejected nearly all of its provisions.
In Nashville, voters passed a $3.1 billion transportation proposal that supporters say will improve the city’s bus system, sidewalks and traffic lights. Under the plan, Davidson County — which includes Nashville — will increase its sales tax by half a cent to fund public transportation improvements.
“What Nashvillians can look forward to are sidewalks that connect, traffic lights that are smart enough to keep the maximum amount of traffic moving, a transportation system that makes sense and convenient when you need it, and roads with safety improvements for the first time in decades,” Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said in a statement.