State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) will have an opportunity to seek election victories beginning with June 15th primaries in their respective districts after their expulsions from the State House earlier this month. Nashville Metro Council and Shelby County Commission both voted unanimously to appoint Jones and Pearson to serve as their own interim replacements in Districts 52 and 86.
The special elections will determine who will serve the remainder of Jones’ and Pearson’s terms until the next, regular election cycle in 2024.
The qualifying deadline to earn a sufficient number of signed petitions to run for the District 52 special election is May 4th. The voter registration deadline is May 16.
Early voting will run from May 26th through June 10th. Election day for the primary will be June 15th, while the general election will take place along with the Metro Nashville General Elections on August 3rd.
Justin Jones joined the petition list for the race on Friday morning. To qualify to run in the primary, each candidate must collect at least 25 signatures from registered voters in the district in which they intend to run.
The dates for the District 86 special election will coincide with those of District 52. Justin Pearson along with one other Democrat and an Independent have filed to run in the June 15th Democratic Primary.
Tennessee State House District 52 currently held by Jones is one of the most heavily Democratic districts in the state. The Democratic primary is usually more competitive than the general election. Indeed, the incumbent Democrats of the district have only faced one Republican challenger since 2010 – a 44 percentage point loss in 2020.
Some support for a Republican challenger to the firebrand incumbent is brewing. Davidson County GOP Chair Lonnie Spivak notes that if a Republican runs against Jones, turnout could be key – especially in a special election such as this one. So far, one Republican, Laura Nelson, has picked up petitions to run in District 52.
District 86, similar to District 52, is heavily Democratic. Republicans’ best performance since 2000 was a 37 percentage point loss in 2010, a year that heavily favored the GOP nationwide.
Because of the attention drawn to their expulsions, Jones and Pearson have enjoyed national fundraising efforts through ActBlue. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) set up a particularly successful effort, amassing hundreds of thousands of dollars within days of the lawmakers’ expulsions.
Receiving less attention is the special election to fill the District 3 seat, recently vacated by former State Representative Scotty Campbell (R-Mountain City). Campbell resigned shortly after an ethics investigation found that he violated General Assembly rules on workplace harassment. The District 3 Primary Election Day will be June 22nd, while the general election will take place on August 3rd.
District 3 is far from District 86, both geographically and politically. Democrats’ best electoral performance in the district was a nearly 28 percentage point loss in 2004.
Two candidates have picked up petitions in Johnson County: Dennis Root and Neal Kerney. The latter garnered 26 percent of the vote in the 2020 GOP primary for District 3, against Scotty Campbell’s 73 percent. Two candidates have began petitioning in Sullivan County: William Stacey Vaughan and Angela Stanley. All four are Republicans. Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) endorsed Stanley in the race.
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Mac Roberts is a reporter at The Tennessee Star. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Justin Jones” by Tennessee General Assembly. Photo “Justin Pearson” by Justin Pearson. Background Photo “Tennessee House Floor” by Tennessee General Assembly.
