Karen D. Camper (born January 15, 1958) is an American politician and a Democratic member of 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 consi ...

representing District 87 since her special election March 31, 2008 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of

Gary Rowe Gary James Rowe (born 5 September 1952) is an Australian politician. He was the Liberal member for Cranbourne in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1992 to 2002, and in 2012, he was elected as a councillor for Mayfield Ward in the City o ...

. She is a candidate for the

2023 Memphis mayoral election The 2023 Memphis mayoral election took place on October 5, 2023. Incumbent Jim Strickland is term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third term in office. The election used the plurality vote system, with no possibility of a runoff. T ...

Education

Camper attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th sta ...

and earned her AS from the

University at Albany, SUNY The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is on ...

Career

Elections

*2012 Camper was unopposed for both the August 2, 2012 Democratic Primary, winning with 4,917 votes, and the November 6, 2012 General election, winning with 18,282 votes. *2008 Camper was challenged in the August 7, 2008 Democratic Primary, winning with 2,242 votes (66.8%), and was unopposed for the November 4, 2008 General election, winning with 11,733 votes. *2010 Camper was challenged in the August 5, 2010 Democratic Primary, winning with 3,075 votes (75.6%), and was unopposed for the November 2, 2010 General election, winning with 6,111 votes.

Tenure

Camper was elected on December 17, 2018 to be the Leader of the Tennessee House Democratic Caucus, the first African-American leader in the Tennessee House of Representatives.Meet Karen Camper, the first African-American to lead Tennessee's House Democrats
''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

'' On November 11, 2022, Camper announced she was running in the

Personal life

Camper is

baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

. She is divorced and has a child named Bruce, Jr.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

Campaign site
*
Karen Camper
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Karen Camper
at the National Institute on Money in State Politics 1958 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American female military personnel African-American state legislators in Tennessee African-American women in politics Living people Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Place of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee United States Army officers University at Albany, SUNY alumni University of Tennessee alumni Women state legislators in Tennessee Women in the United States Army 20th-century African-American women Women opposition leaders African-American United States Army personnel {{Tennessee-politician-stub