TN House of Representative Special Primary & Special Election

The Tennessee House of Representatives is holding a special primary election for the District 51 representative seat that was vacated in June 2023 with the passing of Rep. Bill Beck and a special election to appoint a representative in District 52. Justin Jones, the current representative in District 52, was expelled by the Republican majority in April for participating in a gun control protest on the House floor. Nashville’s Metro Council unanimously voted to

House Of Rep D51

Indivisible and Tennessee Justice Center and in 2022, Behn joined RuralOrganizer. org as Campaign Director.

In March 2019, Behn wrote an op-ed in The Tennessean on the issue of racism in the state legislature. In April 2019, Behn participated in a 30-hour sit-in at Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office advocating for the removal of Rep. David Byrd who was accused of sexual assault; Behn was also removed from Tennessee House chambers after protesting House Speaker Glen Casada’s support for Rep. Byrd.

Behn intends to “offer backup” to the Tennessee state representatives Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson, known as the “Tennessee Three.” Behn’s priorities as representative include opposing anti-LGBTQIA+-rights legislation; reforming Tennessee state gun laws and campaign finance; pursuing reproductive justice; investing in caregiving infrastructure; challenging state preemption of local governance, in part to achieve housing justice; elevating the perspectives of constituent school board members on education issues and incentivizing economic growth through small businesses.

Tn House Of Rep D52

in political science from Fisk University and is completing a master’s of theological studies degree at Vanderbilt University.

reinstate Jones but official re-election of this seat takes place in this special election where Jones is running against Republican Laura Nelson.

The Tennessee House of Representatives, alongside the Tennessee State Senate, forms the legislative branch of the Tennessee state government and works alongside the Governor of Tennessee to create laws and establish a state budget.

Legislative authority and responsibilities of the Tennessee ics from Lambuth University and is the founder of East Nashville Beer Works, a family-friendly brewery and pizzeria. He represented council District 7 from 2011-2019, and was recently appointed interim representative to fill the vacancy left after the death of Rep. Bill Beck, for whom he had served as campaign treasurer.

House of Representatives includes passing bills on public policy matters, setting state budgets, raising and lowering taxes, and voting to uphold or override gubernatorial vetoes. The House has the sole power to originate impeachment proceedings against public officials, who are then brought before the Senate for trial. Tennessee is one of six states that requires a majority vote from both of its legislative chambers to override a veto.

Anthony Davis, a Nashville native and Democrat, received his bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Econom-

During his Council tenure, Davis served on the Budget and Finance Committee and chaired the Public Works and the Rules

Committees. He also served on the Board of several nonprofit agencies, including Margaret Maddox East Nashville YMCA, Friends of Riverside Drive, Nashville Adult Literacy Council and Nashville Living Wage Committee. He believes in passing sensible gun legislation, strengthening public school education, increasing access to quality healthcare for all, supporting workers, and protecting Nashville from state overreach.

Justin Jones is a community organizer and activist who currently serves in the Tennessee General Assembly. He has a bachelor’s degree

Prior to being elected, Jones participated in numerous protests at the Tennessee Capitol. In 2019, he organized a campaign to remove the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the Capitol Building. In 2020, while protesting for racial justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Jones was arrested and faced a total of 14 charges related to the protest. Many of the charges were dropped in 2021.

In 2023, Jones and fellow lawmaker Justin Pearson were expelled from the House of Representatives for participating in a gun control protest on the House floor. Nashville’s Metro Council unanimously voted to reinstate Jones. Jones believes Tennessee is on the front lines in a battle for democracy. He is running to fight for quality public education, environmental justice, immigration rights and the needs of working people.

Nelson currently serves as the First Vice Chair of the Davidson County Republican Party. Nelson did not respond to our inquiries and no other information was available online.

The following candidates had no information online and did not respond to our inquiries requesting information, and for this reason were not included in this issue: David C. Hooven running for the Republican seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives in District 51, Terri Laine Klingner running for Metro Council in District 5, Emmit Martin running for Metro Council in District 17 and Carson Smart running for Metro Council in District 35.

Natisha Brooks is a self-described conservative from Gimer, Texas. She received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Prairie A&M University and became