REPUBLICANS TAKE CONTROL
November 4, 2008, will be remembered by the Republican Party in Tennessee as the greatest day since Reconstruction. Both the House and Senate chambers went Republican, which in many eyes, was a huge upset for the Democrats in the House. Nationally, as more and more states were going blue, Tennessee was one of the few states that became red all the way to the State House. The GOP tipped the balance of power by winning three contentious races in the Senate and gaining four seats in the House.
At the Federal level, all incumbents were re-elected. Senator Lamar Alexander won handily, to allow both U.S. Senate seats to remain Republican.
State Senate Highlights
- In District 4, Republican candidate Mike Faulk upset the Independent candidate Mike Williams by a slim margin. Republicans coveted a win in this district and campaigned long and hard for Faulk. Williams became unhappy with the Republican Party a couple of years ago and changed to an Independent. Gov. Bredesen campaigned and raised money for Williams, but Faulk pulled out a win by less than 300 votes.
- In District 12, another highly coveted Republican seat, Republican Ken Yager defeated Democrat Becky Ruppe by a 7% margin. This was a key win for the Senate Republicans, as the retiring State senator was a Democrat.
- Democrat Tim Barnes will be the new senator for District 22. He was defeated in the primary by incumbent Rosalind Kurita by a slim victory of only 19 votes. He contested this election and was named winner of the primary. The Republicans supported Kurita’s effort to win the write-in vote, but she did not succeed.
- Another highly watched race was for the District 26 seat of long-time Senator John Wilder (D). Wilder did not run for re-election and this was a must win for Senate Republicans. Former Republican State Representative Dolores Gresham beat Democratic opponent Randy Camp with 54% of the vote.
By winning Districts 4, 12, and 26, Republicans retained majority control in the Senate and now have a 19-14 majority.
State House Highlights
Republicans pick up 4 seats
- In District 2, Democrat incumbent Nathan Vaughn was defeated by Republican Tony Shipley. This was the gain needed for the House Republicans to gain control.
- In District 36, Republican Chad Faulkner defeated his Democrat and Independent candidate. This was a seat that the Democrats thought they could win.
- The District 40 seat was up for grabs after 36 year Democrat incumbent Representative Frank Buck retired. Republican Terri Lynn Weaver defeated Democrat Cleveland Bain and Independent Ray Amalfitano with 55% of the vote. The Democrats were hoping to retain this seat.
- In District 48, Republican Joe Carr defeated Democrat Tim Tipps. This seat was vacated by long serving Representative John Hood. The Democrats were hoping to hold onto this seat but the trend in Rutherford County is leaning Republican.
- In District 64, Republican incumbent Tom DuBois was defeated by Democrat Ty Cobb who won 52% of the vote. This race was highly publicized with negative TV ads against the incumbent.
- Democrat incumbent Bob Bibb was defeated by Republican Joshua Evans in District 66. This was a race that the Democrats had hoped to keep.
- Representative Randy Rinks gave up his seat when he decided not to run for re-election. Democrats fought hard to keep power of this seat but Republicans fought even harder to gain the seat. Republican Vance Dennis defeated Democrat Stan Wheeler in District 71.
By winning House seats 2, 40, 48, 66, the Republicans gained control of the House by a 50-49 majority.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The change in leadership in the House could mean a brand new way of doing business in that chamber. The Democrats have controlled committees, subcommittee and leadership positions since 1971. If a Republican is elected House Speaker, all new appointments and chairs will be selected. If, however, Speaker Naifeh wins his speakership by a coalition of Democrats and Republicans, then things will remain close to the same. The Legislature reconvenes the first Tuesday in January. The Speaker of the House will be selected by a majority of those voting. The vote will be very close.
In the Senate, Lt. Gov. Ramsey will remain Speaker and Republicans will control the committee chairs and committee make up. Gov. Ramsey may decide to make the committee chairs all Republican, or he could leave one or two in Democratic hands. Again, this will be decided in January.
All in all, last night was a very historic time in Tennessee history. Only time will tell how well it will serve the people of Tennessee.
Please email us or call if you have questions.
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