Hemmer ad takes aim at ‘dangerous’ Foreman
In a state House race for the open District 59 seat comprising Nashville’s wealthiest neighborhoods, Democrat Caleb Hemmer is out with a TV ad attacking Republican Michelle Foreman as “Tennessee’s Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
Hemmer is a former staffer in then-Gov. Phil Bredesen’s administration. Foreman until recently was a member of the state Republican Party’s executive committee.
Here is the script:
Michelle Foreman’s extreme political views are dangerous. Foreman wants more assault weapons on Nashville streets and no background checks. Foreman defends the traitors who stormed the U.S. Capitol and injured 140 police officers. She spreads the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Tennessee’s Marjorie Taylor Greene. A court even fined Foreman $1 million for breaking a federal law. Risky. Dangerous. Extreme. That’s Michelle Foreman.
AFL-CIO makes endorsements in state, federal races
The state chapter of the AFL-CIO has announced the names of the candidates the labor group is backing this year’s primary elections. Most are either incumbents or unopposed for the Democratic nomination in their respective races.
Here’s the release from the AFL-CIO:
NASHVILLE, MAY 23, 2022- Following a joint meeting of its Executive Board and Committee on Political Education (COPE) held last week, the Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council is announcing its list of endorsed candidates ahead of the August 4th State and Federal Primary Election.
“After a robust discussion, our membership believes that the following list of candidates will best represent our interests in the Tennessee General Assembly and the halls of Congress,” said TN AFL-CIO President Billy Dycus. “Over the past two years, we’ve seen what happens when corporate special interest groups, big business, and greedy politicians continue to have unchecked power and total control of the political process. Working families are tired of being represented by legislators who couldn’t care less about their needs or well-being. It’s time to start chipping away at the supermajority and elect candidates who will stand up and speak out for all of their constituents, not just the wealthy few.”
The Council will hold another meeting in mid-August to discuss additional endorsements for the November 8th General Election, including its positions on the four proposed constitutional amendments.
U.S. House of Representatives, District 2: Mark Harmon
U.S. House of Representatives, District 5: Heidi Campbell
U.S. House of Representatives, District 7: Odessa Kelly
U.S. House of Representatives, District 9: Steve Cohen
State Senate, District 3: Kate Craig
State Senate, District 21: Jeff Yarbro
State Senate, District 29: Raumesh Akbari
State House of Representatives, District 15: Sam McKenzie
State House of Representatives, District 28: Yusuf Hakeem
State House of Representatives, District 41: John Mark Windle
State House of Representatives, District 48: Matt Ferry
State House of Representatives, District 50: Bo Mitchell
State House of Representatives, District 51: Bill Beck
State House of Representatives, District 53: Jason Powell
State House of Representatives, District 54: Vincent Dixie
State House of Representatives, District 55: John Ray Clemmons
State House of Representatives, District 56: Bob Freeman
State House of Representatives, District 58: Harold Love, Jr.
State House of Representatives, District 59: Caleb Hemmer
State House of Representatives, District 60: Darren Jernigan
State House of Representatives, District 67: Ronnie Glynn
State House of Representatives, District 80: Johnny Shaw
State House of Representatives, District 84: Joe Towns, Jr.
State House of Representatives, District 85: Jesse Chism
State House of Representatives, District 86: Barbara Cooper
State House of Representatives, District 87: Karen Camper
State House of Representatives, District 88: Larry Miller
State House of Representatives, District 90: Gloria Johnson
State House of Representatives, District 91: Torrey Harris
State House of Representatives, District 93: G.A. Hardaway
State House of Representatives, District 96: Dwayne Thompson
State House of Representatives. District 98: Antonio Parkinson
Brandon Ogles won’t seek third term in state House
Rep. Brandon Ogles says he won’t seek a third term in the Tennessee House.
The Franklin Republican was elected in 2018 on a platform that included opposing school vouchers. But upon arriving at the Capitol, Ogles became a key ally to then-House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) and his chief of staff, Cade Cothren, and voted for the voucher measure in a controversial 50-48 floor vote in 2019.
Casada and Cothren have been implicated by former Rep. Robin Smith (R-Hixson) of participating with her in a scheme to drive business to shadowy campaign vendor called Phoenix Solutions, which they allegedly controlled. Ogles has not been named as part of the investigation, but he has been a vocal defender of Casada, speaking out at a Williamson County chamber of commerce event recently against a Registry of Election Finance subpoena issued for the former speaker and other current and former lawmakers to testify about another mystery political action committee involved in defeating Republican Rep. Rick Tillis (R-Lewisburg). The Registry has since referred its probe to prosecutors in Williamson County.
Ogles missed about four weeks of last year’s session with what he said was a severe case of COVID-19. The lawmaker says he will work as advocate for victims of violent crimes.
Here is Ogles’ Facebook statement on his retirement:
Here’s who is hanging ’em up this year in the General Assembly
The candidate filing deadline is April 7, but several state lawmakers have already given notice they don’t plan to seek another term this year. Two others have either stepped down or been ousted from their respective chambers amid federal charges.
[Updated on 4-5-22 to add Rep. Eddie Mannis]:
Here’s is The Tennessee Journal’s running tally:
HOUSE
— District 18: Eddie Mannis (R-Knoxville).
— District 24: Mark Hall (R-Cleveland). Running for the state Senate.
— District 26: Robin Smith (R-Hixson). Resigned after pleading guilty to federal charge.
— District 32: Kent Calfee (R-Kingston).
— District 35. Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station).
— District 52: Mike Stewart (D-Nashville).
— District 59: Jason Potts (D-Nashville).
— District 61: Brandon Ogles (R-Franklin).
— District 63: Glen Casada (R-Franklin). Running for Williamson County Clerk and under federal investigation.
— District 67: Jason Hodges (D-Clarksville).
— District 69: Michael Curcio (R-Dickson).
— District 71: David Byrd (R-Waynesboro).
— District 75: Bruce Griffey (R-Paris). Running for circuit judge.
— District 79: Curtis Halford (R-Dyer).
— District 91: London Lamar (D-Memphis). Appointed to Senate vacancy and running for the upper chamber.
SENATE
— District 9: Mike Bell (R-Riceville).
— District 19. Brenda Gilmore (D-Nashville).
— District 31: Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown). Under federal indictment.
— District 33: Katrina Robinson (D-Memphis). Ousted following federal fraud conviction.
Dems gain one seat in state Senate, House makeup unchanged
With much of the vote tallied across the state, there were only handful of legislative races still in play.
In state Senate contests, Democratic challenger Heidi Campbell beat incumbent Sen. Steve Dickerson in Nashville, 52% to 48%.
Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga held on to a 6 point win over Democrat Glenn Scruggs.
In House races, incumbent Memphis Rep. John DeBerry, who was stripped of his ability to run for re-election as a Democrat, lost to the party’s standard-bearer, Torrey Harris, 77% to 23%.
The open race to succeed retiring Rep. Jim Coley (R-Bartlett) had Republican John Gillespie bear Democrat Gabby Salinas by 485 votes. In another closely-watched Shelby County race, Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) won by 9 points over Democrat Jerri Green.
With most of the vote counted in Rutherford County, Rep. Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna) beat Democrat Brandon Thomas by 9 points.
In Knox County, Republican businessman Eddie Mannis defeated Democrat Virginia Couch by 10 points to keep the seat in the Republican column following the retirement of Rep. Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville). Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) turned back a challenge from Republican Elaine Davis by 6 percentage points.
It’s Election Day in Tennessee. Here are the state races we’re following
Tennessee voters who weren’t among the record numbers casting early or absentee ballots go to the polls Tuesday to make their choices for president, Congress, and General Assembly.
Much of the attention and outside spending was focused on the Republican Senate primary decided in August. Republican nominee Bill Hagerty, a former U.S. ambassador to Japan, now faces Democrat Marquita Bradshaw, an environmental activist from Memphis.
On the legislative front, here are the races drawing the most attention:
Senate:
District 20, Nashville: Republican Sen. Steve Dickerson of Nashville is being challenged by former Oak Hill Mayor Heidi Campbell.
District 10, Hamilton and Bradley counties: Republican Sen. Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga faces Democrat Glenn Scruggs, an assistant police chief.
House:
District 97 in Shelby County: The open race for the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Jim Coley (R-Bartlett) pits Republican John Gillespie against Democrat Gabby Salinas.
District 83 in Shelby County: House Education Chairman Mark White (R-Memphis) faces Democrat Jerri Green, an attorney and school voucher opponent.
District 49 in Rutherford County: Rep. Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna) is facing his latest spirited challenge in Rutherford County from Democrat Brandon Thomas, an hourly worker at a Walmart in Smyrna.
District 90 in Shelby County: Running as an independent following his ouster from the Democratic Party this spring, Rep. John DeBerry faces Torrey Harris, a reproductive rights and AIDS advocate.
District 18 in Knox County. In the race to succeed retiring Rep. Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville), Republican Businessman Eddie Mannis faces Democrat Virginia Couch, an attorney.
District 67 in Montgomery County: Freshman Rep. Jason Hodges (D-Clarksville) is being challenged by Republican John Dawson, a retired Army helicopter mechanic.
District 37 in Rutherford County: Freshman Rep. Charlie Baum (R-Murfreesboro), an economics professor at Middle Tennessee Tennessee State University, faces Democrat Mariah Phillips, a Murfreesboro teacher and longtime Starbucks employee.
District 82 in Crockett, Haywood, and Lauderdale counties: Freshman Republican Rep. Chris Hurt, a former Halls High School football coach, is being challenged by Democrat Andrea Bond Johnson, a Brownsville insurance agency CE.
District 13 in Knox County: Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville faces Republican challenger Elaine Davis, who has received financial backing from Republicans despite seemingly long odds.
District 96 in Shelby County. Democratic Rep. Dwayne Thompson of Cordova faces Republican de-annexation advocate Patti Possel.
District 63 in Williamson County: Former House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) faces a challenge by Democrat Elizabeth Madeira and independent Brad Fiscus.
Tennessee Equality Project rescinds Dickerson endorsement over Senate speaker’s ad
The Tennessee Equality Project has rescinded its endorsement of Republican state Sen. Steve Dickerson of Nashville over an ad being run on his behalf by the Senate Speaker Randy McNally’s political action committee.
The ad targets Dickerson’s Democratic challenger, Heidi Campbell, for saying supportive things about Gideon’s Army, which the spot describes as an extremist group calling for “revolutionary changes to our way of life.” Democrats have pushed back against the ad presenting Gideon’s Army as supporting rioting. They point to the group’s efforts to mentor young people and de-escalate violence in predominantly black North Nashville. The organization was also heavily involved in cleanup efforts after a tornado wrought heavy damage in the neighborhood in March. The Tennessee Equality Project denounced the spot as a “disgusting, racist ad.”
“Although he has an exemplary record on LGBTQ rights in the Legislature, elected officials are called to speak out against racism in politics,” TEP executive director Chris Sanders said in a blog post.
Here’s the ad:
The decision to withdraw the Dickerson endorsement means the group is now backing just one Republican candidate for the General Assembly: Knoxville businessman Eddie Mannis, who is running to succeed retiring state Rep. Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville).
Winners and losers in the General Assembly’s fundraising sweepstakes
The state Capitol was closed to visitors on March 16, 2020. (Erik Schelzig, Tennessee Journal)
The final fundraising disclosures are in before Thursday’s primary election. We’ve dug through the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance disclosures to aggregate how much each candidate for the House and Senate has raised so far through this election cycle.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) leads the way with $359,200, followed by freshman Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville) with $290,700. Sen. Paul Rose (R-Covington) is next on the list with $226,500, though his numbers are a bit inflated by having stood for a special election during the cycle.
On the other end of the spectrum are incumbents who have raised the least. They are Reps. G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) with $2,900, Mike Carter (R-Ooltewah) with $3,900, and former House Speaker Glen Casada (R-Franklin) with $6,450.
These totals are for candidates only, meaning they don’t include any of their political action committees.
A couple caveats about the way the Registry keeps these numbers: They include outside donations and direct contributions from the candidates themselves, but not loans. For example, while Rep. Rick Tillis’ challenger Todd Warner in District 92 is listed as raising $2,950, that figure doesn’t include the eye-popping $127,100 he has loaned himself. The figures also don’t include unitemized contributions, which for some candidates can be substantial.
So with all that being said, the full list follows. Challengers and candidates in open races are listed in italics.
