Thomas Richard Tillis (born September 22, 1963) is an American politician who served 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 ...
from the 92nd district as a member of the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
. During his tenure in the state house he served as the Majority Whip.
Tillis, who is the brother of
US Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
Thom Tillis, received a
GED
The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...
from the
Florida Department of Education
The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) is the state education agency of Florida. It governs public education and manages funding and testing for local educational agencies (school boards). It is headquartered in the Turlington Building (na ...
. He was elected to the state house in Tennessee in the 2016 election and served until he was defeated in the 2020 Republican primary by
Todd Warner
Todd Warner (born June 6, 1971) is an American politician. A Republican, he represents District 92 in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Tennessee House of Representatives
In January 2021, Warner was one of several current and former Tenn ...
. Tillis served as the Majority Whip from 2018 to until his resignation in 2019, after it was discovered that he was running a Twitter account critical of other Republicans in the state house.
Early life
Thomas Richard Tillis was born on September 22, 1963, to Margie and Thomas Raymond Tillis.
His brother,
Thom Tillis, was later elected as a
United States Senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
from North Carolina. He received a
GED
The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...
from the
Florida Department of Education
The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) is the state education agency of Florida. It governs public education and manages funding and testing for local educational agencies (school boards). It is headquartered in the Turlington Building (na ...
.
Tennessee House of Representatives
Elections
![Rick Tillis campaign logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Rick_Tillis_campaign_logo.png)
Tillis ran for the
Republican nomination for a seat 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 ...
from the
92nd district in the 2016 election. He defeated Michael Waggoner by forty votes and defeated
Democratic nominee Tamra King in the election.
In the 2018 election he defeated
Billy Spivey in the Republican primary and Democratic nominee C.S. Coffey in the election.
Tillis ran for reelection in the 2020 election, but was defeated by
Todd Warner
Todd Warner (born June 6, 1971) is an American politician. A Republican, he represents District 92 in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Tennessee House of Representatives
In January 2021, Warner was one of several current and former Tenn ...
in the Republican primary making him one of four incumbents in the state house to lose renomination.
Tenure
Tillis introduced his first bill in 2017, which attempted to reduce the size of the Tennessee government and it was passed by the state house. During his tenure he served on the Local, State, and Finance, Ways, and Means committees.
During the
2018 United States Senate election Tillis filed a complaint to the
United States Office of Special Counsel
The United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is a permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose basic legislative authority comes from four federal statutes: the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Prot ...
calling for an investigation into
Phil Bredesen's campaign treasurer, Virginia Lodge, for appearing in a campaign ad. Tillis' complaint alleged that Lodge, who was a board member of the
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...
, was in violation of the
Hatch Act
The Hatch Act of 1939, An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, is a United States federal law. Its main provision prohibits civil service employees in the executive branch of the federal government, except the president and vice pre ...
by serving as the treasure of Bredesen's campaign while also serving as a federal employee. He stated that being a treasurer was not in violation of the act, but appearing in advertisements was a violation.
In 2018, Tillis was selected by the Republican caucus to serve as the Majority Whip of the Tennessee House of Representatives. In August 2019, House Majority Leader
William Lamberth and Representative
Andy Holt stated that Tillis had admitted to running an account on Twitter which criticized other Republican members of the Tennessee House of Representatives. On August 30, Representative
Jeremy Faison
Jeremy Faison is a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the Eleventh District and is the Chairman of the House Republican Caucus. He represents all of Cocke County and part of Hamblen and Jefferson counties.
Biograp ...
, the chairman of the GOP House caucus, announced in an email that Tillis had stepped down as the Majority Whip. On January 27, 2020,
Johnny Garrett was selected to replace Tillis as the Majority Whip.
Electoral history
References
External links
*
Rick Tillis' campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tillis, Rick
1963 births
21st-century American politicians
Living people
Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives