Rep. Daniel won’t seek re-election to Knoxville seat
Rep. Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville) listens to a briefing on the House floor on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
Republican state Rep. Martin Daniel has won’t seek a fourth term in the state House this fall. Daniel, who won re-election by just 3 percentage points in 2018, said he made his decision the night of that vote.
“I have determined that I will not be a candidate for re-election in November 2020 as Representative of our State’s 18th District,” Daniel said in a Facebook post. “It has been a privilege to represent West Knoxville over the past 5 ½ years and I am eternally grateful for the responsibility and honor that you have bestowed on me.”
Here is Daniel’s full statement:
Dear Friends:
This letter is to inform you of a decision that I essentially made on election night November 2018.
After much consideration before then and since, I have determined that I will not be a candidate for re-election in November 2020 as Representative of our State’s 18th District. It has been a privilege to represent West Knoxville over the past 5 ½ years and I am eternally grateful for the responsibility and honor that you have bestowed on me.
In 2014, I was motivated to represent West Knoxville because of my love for our great state, for West Knoxville, and for freedom and liberty. Since you sent me to Nashville, among other things, I have consistently worked for a smaller, more efficient government, to foster freedom, and to thereby enable all Tennesseans to pursue happiness to their heart’s content with minimal government interference. I hope that I have played a small part in making Tennessee a better place now and for those who will come after us.
With recent Republican leadership, Tennessee has enjoyed a great period of prosperity. I believe, however, that its greatest moments lie ahead of it. I hope to continue to be involved in politics and government in other ways, but very soon, I look forward to spending more time with my children – Sophie and Matthew – and tending to my business, both of which have been neglected in the past few years.
Please know that I am here to serve you until November of this year, and I will be gladly taking care of the duties for which you elected me.
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