Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Tennessee Republican Party

Tennessee affiliate of the U.S. Republican Party From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tennessee Republican Party
Remove ads

The Tennessee Republican Party (TRP or TNGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Tennessee. Since the mid-1960s, the state has become increasingly Republican. The current chairman of the Republican Party of Tennessee is Scott Golden. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all but one of Tennessee's nine U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate, the governorship, and has supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature.

Quick Facts Chairperson, Governor of Tennessee ...
Remove ads

History

Summarize
Perspective

Upon its entry into the Union in 1796, Tennessee was strongly Democratic-Republican. Tennessee became a two-party system for more than 20 years during the Jacksonian era. The Democratic Party was formed by Jackson followers, and this party was dominant against the rival Whig Party led by Henry Clay. But in 1835, there was a turn in power of party, and a Whig governor was elected. Tennessee, after the American Civil War was part of the Democratic South for about a century. East Tennessee, however, remained strongly Republican. Even though the state was predominantly Democratic, two different presidential elections won the state of Tennessee in 1920 and 1928. In the 1960s and 1970s Republicans made a push into the Democratic power when, in 1966, Howard Baker was elected US senator. Then again Republicans made another push when Winfield Dunn was elected governor, the first Republican Governor in over 50 years.[1]

Republicans rarely held seats in the U.S. House from the South during the Solid South period with the party only holding two seats in Tennessee between 1947 and 1952, out of the 105 seats in the south.[2] Republicans won 80 of 2,565 congressional elections in the south during the first half of the 20th century. 50 of these victories were in eastern Tennessee.[3]

Remove ads

Leadership and staff

Summarize
Perspective

The Tennessee Republican Party has had five chairmen since 2005. On December 11, 2004, the State Executive Committee unanimously elected Bob Davis[4] as Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party to serve for the calendar years 2005 and 2006. He was subsequently elected to a second two-year term, 2007 and 2008, but resigned from the chairmanship in August 2007 to become Senior Adviser to presidential candidate Fred Thompson. The party's State Executive Committee then chose Robin Smith,[5] former chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party and vice chairman of the Tennessee GOP under Davis, to complete Davis's two-year term.

Republicans won a victory in Tennessee's 2008 elections, when the party won majorities in both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly for the first time since the Reconstruction Era election of 1868. Smith was unanimously re-elected at the end of 2008 to a full two-year term as chairman for calendar years 2009 and 2010. In April 2009, Smith announced her resignation in order to run for Congress in Tennessee's 3rd congressional district in the August 2010 Republican primary.[6]

Staff

The Chairman of the Republican Party of Tennessee is Scott Golden, who was elected on December 3, 2016.[7]

Remove ads

Current elected officials

Summarize
Perspective

The Tennessee Republican Party controls the governor's office and a supermajority in the Tennessee Senate and the Tennessee House of Representatives. Republicans hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats and 8 of the state's 9 U.S. House seats.

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

U.S. House of Representatives

Statewide offices

Thumb
Governor Bill Lee

Legislative leadership

Tennessee state senate

As of 2024:

Tennessee state house

As of 2024:

Remove ads

Current structure

Here is the structure of the party as of December 2011[8]

Elected officers of the state committee

  • State Chairman
  • Vice-chairman
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Vice-Treasurer
  • National Committeewoman
  • National Committeeman
  • General Counsel

State executive committee

The state executive committee (SEC) operates as the governing body for the state party. They establish rules and measures that best promote the success of the Republican Party and the broadening of its base. The SEC serves as the TRP's state primary board and establishes to guide and direct County Republican Parties. One man and one woman are elected from each state senate district.[9]

  • 33 districts
  • 66 total representatives of the TRP
  • 33 are male
  • 33 are female
Remove ads

Coalitions

Electoral achievements

Summarize
Perspective

Government trifecta

See also: 2010 Tennessee elections

In the 2010 Tennessee gubernatorial election, Republican nominee Bill Haslam flipped the governors seat. With the state legislature also being controlled by Republicans, this established a historic Republican government trifecta for the first time since the reconstruction era election of 1869.[10] Ever since this election, Republicans have maintained their trifecta, electing Republicans since then.

Legislative achievements

See also: 2008 Tennessee elections
See also: 2012 Tennessee elections

In 2008 Republicans won a historic victory when the party won majorities in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly for the first time since the reconstruction era election of 1868.[11]

Since 2008, Republicans have maintained their majorities in both chambers and gained a historic Supermajority in both chambers in 2012.[12]

Federal elections

Like other Southern states, before the 1960s, Tennessee was a solidly Democratic state. However, that started to change in the 1970s.

Presidential

Since 2000, Republicans have maintained their presidential election winning streak. The last time Tennessee voted for a Democratic presidential nominee was in 1996

U.S. legislative

See also: List of United States senators from Tennessee
See also: List of United States representatives from Tennessee

Republicans have held hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats since 1994. The current Republican senators are Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty.

Republicans have also held a majority of U.S. House seats since 2010. The current delegation is an 8-1 Republican majority.

Remove ads

Former Chairmen

  • Guy Smith, editor of the Knoxville Journal, from 1948-1958 [13]
  • Congressman Carroll Reece (R-Johnson City), from 1958 to 1961. Reece was Chair of the Republican National Committee from 1946-1948.
  • Congressman Howard Baker, Sr. (R-Huntsville), from 1961 to 1962[14]
  • Erby Jenkins, from 1962 to 1963
  • George Ed Wilson, from 1963 to 1964
  • Harry Carbaugh, from 1964 to 1965[15]
  • Julius Hurst, the McNairy County Superintendent of Schools, was the first person from West Tennessee to chair the party and served from 1965 to 1966[16]
  • Ernest Koella, from 1966 to 1977
  • Claude Robertson, from 1967 to 1969
  • State Rep. Ed Bailey (R-Lexington) from 1969 to 1971
  • S.L. “Kopie” Kopald, Jr., from 1971-1974
  • Thomas W. Beasley, from 1977 to 1981.[17]
  • Charles L. Overby, from 1981-1982.
  • Susan Richardson Williams, from 1982 to 1984.
  • State Rep Jim Henry (R-Kingston), from 1984 to 1988. Henry was also House Republican Leader from 1982 to 1988.
  • Former State Rep. Brad Martin (R-Memphis), from 1988 to 1990.
  • Tommy Hopper, 1990 to 1992.
  • Randle Richardson, from 1992 to 1995.
  • Jim Burnett, from 1995 to 1999.
  • Chip Saltsman, from 1999 to 2001.
  • Beth Harwell, from 2001 to 2004.
  • Bob Davis, from 2005 to August 2007.[18]
  • Robin Smith, from August 4, 2007, to May 30, 2009.[19]
  • Chris Devaney, from 2009 to 2015[20]
  • Ryan Haynes, from 2015 to 2016.
Remove ads

Past Republican governors

Notable Tennessee Republicans

Controversy and scandals

Summarize
Perspective

Controversies

In 2008, the Tennessee Republican Party issued a press release that featured a photo of Senator Obama dressed in traditional Kenya clothing that the TN GOP called "Muslim attire" and used Obama's middle name "Hussein." Both Senator John McCain and State Democratic Chairman Gray Sasser decried the press release.[21][22]

Scandals

  • In July 2009, state senator Paul Stanley resigned after being caught in a sexual relationship with a 22-year-old intern. Paul Stanley was known for running for family values.[23] Stanley resigned because he wanted to focus more on his family and better that since his indiscretions. He was quoted saying, "And just because I fell far short of what God's standard was for me and my wife, doesn't mean that that standard is reduced in the least bit."[24]
  • Keith Westmoreland a Republican Tennessee State Representative, was arrested on 7 felony counts of lewd and exposing himself to girls under the age of 16. He committed suicide before he could be prosecuted.[25]
  • Operation Tennessee Waltz was a statewide bribery sting, where 3 Democratic Senators and 1 Republican Representative were either convicted or pleaded guilty. 8 other people also either pleaded guilty or were convicted.[26]
Remove ads

Electoral history

Gubernatorial

More information Election, Gubernatorial candidate ...
Remove ads

See also

References

Works cited

External links

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads
Remove ads