Layman's Terms
Advocacy Update: Initial Election Results and Impacts Insurors Director of Government Relations, Jim Layman, J.D., breaks down the legal and legislative issues facing our industry. Election Day was Tuesday, November 3, and despite a tight race and ongoing recounts and legal challenges, the major news networks have projected that former Vice President Joe Biden is now President-Elect. Although that was the national result, in Tennessee President Trump won handily and by nearly the same margin as he did in 2016, despite increased voter turnout and polling suggesting the margin would be trimmed. In the race to replace long-time U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican Bill Hagerty easily defeated Democrat Marquita Bradshaw with 62% of the vote. In the U.S. House, all 8 incumbents kept their seats, and Republican Diana Harshbarger won election to the District 1 seat in Northeast Tennessee to replace retiring Rep. Phil Roe. InsurPac National disbursed $1.95 million in 254 races this election cycle and have had a 93% victory rate in the races that have been called. Election Day was also a good one for candidates supported by InsurPACTN, as we saw 100% of candidates that we supported get elected. Thank you again to all those that contributed and all those that volunteered and voted. In the State Legislature, party makeup has changed very little as the Democrats picked up one seat in the State Senate and there was no change in the House. Democrat Heidi Campbell narrowly defeated incumbent Dr. Steve Dickerson to win his Nashville Senate seat. The Senate also welcomes Republican Page Walley (R-Bolivar) who is replacing former Sen. Dolores Gresham. In the State House, the chamber will welcome three new Republicans from northeast Tennessee; they are Rep. Scotty Campbell (R-Mountain City), Rep. Tim Hicks (R-Gray), and Rep. Rebecca Alexander (R-Jonesborough). In Knoxville, the House will see the following: Democrat Sam McKenzie, Republican Michele Carringer, and Republican Eddie Mannis. In Memphis, Democrat Torrey Harris beat out former Rep. John DeBerry who was forced to run as an independent, and Republican John Gillespie narrowly hung on to former Rep. Jim Coley’s
The Tennessee Insuror
seat with a victory over Democrat challenger Gabby Salinas. Elsewhere in the state, the House will also welcome Rep. Tandy Darby (R-Greenfield) and Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill). In races involving Insuror members, our own held strong. New Insurors CEO Rep. Ron Travis (R-Dayton) won reelection easily, as did members Rep. Michael Curcio, Rep. Ron Gant, Rep. Kelly Keisling and Rep. Dennis Powers. State Farm agent Rep. Clark Boyd also won reelection. New Session Just Weeks Away The 112th Tennessee General Assembly convenes on January 12, 2021. It will undoubtedly be a unique session as access to the chambers continues to be impacted by COVID-19. Many anticipate a shortened session and one that is more focused on COVID-related and time-sensitive bills. We will be ready no matter the circumstances, and I am also very much looking forward to our first session with Ron Travis as our CEO. Despite the hard work of our Government Affairs Committee and myself to protect and advance the interests of independent agents in the state legislature, that work is not successful without a well-funded PAC. Please remember to contribute generously to InsurPACTN and InsurPac when you receive your dues renewals so that we can continue to be successful on the legislative front. With that in mind, many of our members have already been great supporters of InsurPACTN in 2021. Please take a look on the next page and share in our gratitude for their participation. About the Author Jim Layman, J.D. is the Director of Government Relations for Insurors. He previously worked for the Tennessee Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services as legislative liaison and rules coordinator. Prior to that, he worked for the Dept. of Health as a legislative liaison and the Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development as director of unemployment insurance appeals. Jim graduated from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee. He may be contacted at jlayman@insurors.org. u
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