Dwight Henry (born March 13, 1953) is an American politician and radio personality. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he served one term in the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

(1989–1991), and was an unsuccessful candidate for

Governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The governor is the only official in Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state. The current governor is Bill Lee, a ...

in 1990. He has also served as mayor of

Cookeville, Tennessee Cookeville is the county seat and largest city of Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was reported to be 34,842. It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, or smaller ...

(1985–1988), and has spent several years on the Cookeville City Council.

Life and career

Henry was born in

Sweetwater, Tennessee Sweetwater is a city in Monroe and McMinn counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the most populous city in Monroe County. The population was 5764 at the 2010 census and 6,312 at the 2020 census. Sweetwater is the home of the Craighead Ca ...

. He attended

Cleveland State Community College Cleveland State Community College is a public community college in Cleveland, Tennessee. It is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. Like most community colleges, emphasis is on associate's degree-level classes, but it also offers some thi ...

from 1971 to 1973 and then enrolled in

Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...

, graduating in 1976 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree. He became involved in the radio broadcasting industry and in 1985 was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

. Henry, was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1988 from the 42nd House District, a largely rural area centered on Cookeville, the site of Tennessee Tech, which had almost uniformly supported Democrats in the past. When it became apparent that no prominent Republicans were going to challenge popular incumbent Tennessee governor

Ned McWherter Ned Ray McWherter (October 15, 1930April 4, 2011) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th Governor of Tennessee, from 1987 to 1995. Prior to that, he served as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 19 ...

for re-election in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, Henry entered the fray, winning the

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

easily, apparently with the understanding that his chances of defeating McWherter in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

were incredibly low, and that McWherter, a moderate who was also supported by many prominent Republicans, including many of their major contributors and fund raisers, would control the vast majority of all financial contributions made to the race. Henry's appeal was essentially solely to Republican straight-ticket voters and conservatives, and he received only about one-third of the votes in the November general election. Henry was the youngest man ever elected to the office of mayor in Cookeville but is not the only record breaker in the Henry household. After taking office, his daughter, Brittany Kylene Henry became the first baby born to a mayor of Cookeville while he was still in office. Henry ran for the State House again in 2000, but lost the general election to

Jere Hargrove Jere Logan Hargrove (born September 17, 1946) is a Tennessee Democratic politician who served in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Early life and education Hargrove was born September 17, 1946 in Cookeville, Tennessee. He was educated a ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Dwight 1953 births Living people People from Sweetwater, Tennessee Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Mayors of places in Tennessee People from Cookeville, Tennessee