The Tennessee Republican Party (TRP or TNGOP) is the affiliate of the

United States Republican Party The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. 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 the majority of Tennessee's

U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

seats, both

U.S. Senate 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 pow ...

seats, both houses of the state legislature, and the

governorship A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

History

Upon its entry into the Union in 1796 Tennessee was strongly

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

. Tennessee became a two-party system for more than 20 years during the

Jacksonian era Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, A ...

. 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 The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

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 Bryant Winfield Culberson Dunn (born July 1, 1927) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 43rd governor of Tennessee from 1971 to 1975. He was the state's first Republican governor in fifty years.Phillip Langsdon, ''Tennesse ...

was elected governor, the first Republican Governor in over 50 years.

Leadership and staff

The Tennessee Republican Party has had five chairmen since 2005. On December 11, 2004, the State Executive Committee unanimously elected Bob Davis 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, 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 The 3rd congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in East Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Chuck Fleischmann since January 2011. Current boundaries The district comprises two halves, joined together through ...

in the August 2010 Republican primary.

Staff

The Chairman of the Republican Party of Tennessee is Scott Golden, who was elected on December 3, 2016. Tyler Burns serves as the Political Director and Mandy Devaney as the Communications Director.

Current elected officials

The Tennessee Republican Party controls the governor's office and a majority in the Tennessee Senate and the Tennessee House of Representatives. Republicans hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats and 7 of the state's 9 U.S. House seats.

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

File:Marsha Blackburn, official photo, 116th Congress (cropped).jpg, Senior U.S. Senator File:Sen. Bill Hagerty official Senate portrait, 117th Congress (cropped).jpg, Junior U.S. Senator

U.S. House of Representatives

Diana Harshbarger Diana Lynn Harshbarger ( ; born January 1, 1960) is an American pharmacist, businesswoman, and politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district is based in the Tri-Cities, Tennessee, Tri-Cit ...

, 1st District * Tim Burchett, 2nd District * Chuck Fleischmann, 3rd District *

Scott DesJarlais Scott Eugene DesJarlais (; born February 21, 1964) is an American politician and physician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2011. The district stretches across East and Middle Tennessee. He is a member of the Republican Party. E ...

4th District Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

* John Rose, 6th District * Mark Green, 7th District *

David Kustoff David Frank Kustoff (; born October 8, 1966) is an American politician and attorney serving as the United States representative from . The district includes the bulk of West Tennessee, but most of its population is in the eastern part of the Me ...

, 8th District

Statewide offices

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

: Bill Lee * Lieutenant Governor: Randy McNally

Legislative leadership

* Speaker of the Senate/Lt. Governor: Randy McNally * Speaker of the House:

Cameron Sexton Cameron Sexton (born November 11, 1970) is an American politician serving as a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 25th district. He is the 83rd and current Speaker of the House in the Tennessee House of Represen ...

Tennessee state senate

* Steve Southerland, District 1 * Art Swann, District 2 *

Rusty Crowe Dewey "Rusty" Crowe (born April 2, 1947), is an American politician in the state of Tennessee. He is member of the Tennessee Senate representing the 3rd district, which encompasses Washington County, Unicoi County and Carter County. Crowe a ...

, District 3 *

Jon Lundberg Jon Lundberg (born June 26, 1961 in Royal Oak, Michigan) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee State Senate for the 4th district. He was first elected to the 105th Tennessee General Assembly (2007–2008). He serves a ...

, District 4 *Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, District 5 * Becky Duncan Massey, District 6 * Richard Briggs, District 7 * Frank Niceley, District 8 * Mike Bell, District 9 *

Todd Gardenhire Todd Gardenhire (born May 7, 1948) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate representing District 10 since January 8, 2013. Education Gardenhire earned his B.S. in business administration from the University o ...

, District 10 *

Bo Watson Foy W. "Bo" Watson (born October 21, 1960) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate, representing the 11th district since 2007. Biography Bo Watson was born on October 21, 1960 in Chattanooga, TN. He is the s ...

, District 11 *

Ken Yager Ken Yager (born January 5, 1947) is a Republican politician who is currently serving as a State Senator in Tennessee, for District 12. Yager was first elected to this position in 2008 and represents the people in the counties of District 12, w ...

, District 12 * Bill Ketron, District 13 * Jim Tracy, District 14 * Janice Bowling, District 16 *

Mark Pody Mark Allen Pody (born April 23, 1956) is an American politician, elected as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Tennessee Senate from the Tennessee's 17th Senate district, 17th district, encompassing Cannon County, Tenness ...

, District 17 * Ferrell Haile, District 18 *

Steven Dickerson Steven Dickerson is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Tennessee Senate, representing District 20 from January 8, 2013 until November 3, 2020. Education Dickerson earned his BA in history from Sewanee: The Universit ...

, District 20 * Rosalind Kurita, District 22 * Jack Johnson, District 23 * John Stevens, District 24 *

Kerry Roberts Kerry E. Roberts is a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate for the 23rd district, which includes Robertson County, Dickson County, Cheatham County, Humphreys County and Hickman County. In January 2020, Roberts left his weekly radio show ...

, District 25 *

Dolores Gresham Dolores Gresham (born July 16, 1942) is a Republican politician from Tennessee. She was elected to the Tennessee Senate in the 2008 elections after having served three terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Her Senate District 26 encompa ...

, District 26 * Joey Hensley, District 28 *

Brian Kelsey Brian Kelsey (born December 22, 1977) is an American politician and former member of the Tennessee State Senate. A member of the Republican party, he was elected to represent District 31, which encompassed the following parts of Shelby County: ...

, District 31

Tennessee state house

- District 1 * Tony Shipley - District 2 *Timothy Hill - District 3 * David Hawk - District 5 *James (Micah) Van Huss - District 6 *

Matthew Hill Matthew Joseph Hill (born December 4, 1978) is an American talk show host, businessman, and politician who served as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 2005 to 2021.Art Swann - District 8 * Michael Harrison - District 9 *

Tilman Goins Tilman Goins (born April 10, 1977) is an American politician and a Republican who represented District 10 in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018. Education Goins is a graduate of Morristown-Hamblen High School West. He e ...

- District 10 * Jeremy Faison - District 11 * Dale Carr - District 12 * Eddie Smith - District 13 * Ryan Haynes - District 14 * Bill Dunn - District 16 * Andrew Farmer - District 17 * Steve Hall - District 18 *

Harry Brook Harry Cherrington Brook (born 22 February 1999) is an English international cricketer who plays international cricket for England and domestic cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Primarily a right-handed batsman, he also bowls right-arm m ...

- District 19 * Bob Ramsey - District 20 * Jimmy Matlock - District 21 * Eric Watson - District 22 *

John Forgety John W. Forgety (born March 28, 1946) is a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 23rd district, encompassing Athens, McMinn County and part of Monroe County, Tellico Plains, Rural Vale, and Coker Creek. Biography ...

- District 23 * Kevin Brooks - District 24 *

- District 25 * Gerald McCormick - District 26 * Richard Floyd - District 27 *Mike Carter, District 29 * Vince Dean - District 30 * Ron Travis - District 31 * Kent Calfee - District 32 * John Ragan - District 33 *

Rick Womick Rick Womick (born 1958) is an American politician. He served as a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 34th district from 2010 through 2016.

- District 34 *Dennis E. Roach - District 35 * Dennis Powers - District 36 *

Dawn White Dawn White (born October 22, 1975) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate representing the 13th district. She was formerly a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing District 37. White was ...

, District 37 *

Kelly Keisling Kelly T. Keisling (born March 16, 1951) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing District 38 since January 2011. In 2023, Keisling supported a resolution to expel three Democrati ...

- District 38 * David Alexander - District 39 *

Terri Lynn Weaver Terri Lynn Weaver (born September 19, 1957) is an American politician who was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 2009 to 2023. She represented the 40th district, which is composed of Smith, Trousdale, most of DeKalb, and p ...

- District 40 * Ryan Williams - District 42 * Paul Sherrell - District 43 *

William Lamberth William Gary Lamberth (born December 5, 1977) is an American politician.

, District 44 * Courtney Rogers - District 45 *

- District 46 * Judd Matheny - District 47 *

Bryan Terry Bryan Terry (born October 27, 1968) is an American doctor and politician from the state of Tennessee. A Republican, Terry has represented the 48th district of the Tennessee House of Representatives, based in eastern Murfreesboro, since 2015. He i ...

- District 48 * Mike Sparks - District 49 *Speaker Beth Harwell - District 56 *

Susan Lynn Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

- District 57 *Charles Michael Sargent - District 61 *

Pat Marsh Pat Marsh (born January 6, 1949 in Fayetteville, Tennessee) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing District 62 since winning the special election on October 13, 2009 to fill the v ...

- District 62 *

Glen Casada Richard Glen Casada Jr. (born August 2, 1959) is an American politician, member of the Republican Party in the Tennessee House of Representatives, where he represents District 63 ( Williamson County). He was the Speaker of the Tennessee House of ...

- District 63 *

Sheila Butt Sheila Keckler Butt (born November 20, 1951) is an American politician from Columbia, Tennessee, currently serving as the Mayor of Maury County.Sam Whitson, District 65 * Joshua Evans - District 66 *Curtis Johnson - District 68 * Michael Curcio - District 69 *

Barry Doss Barry Doss from Leoma, Tennessee is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing District 70 from January 8, 2013 to January 8, 2019. Education Doss earned his BS in animal scie ...

- District 70 *

Vance Dennis Vance Dennis is a former Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 71st district, encompassing Savannah, Tennessee, Hardin County, McNairy County and part of Decatur County. Early life, education, and early career Denn ...

- District 71 *

Steve McDaniel Steve K. McDaniel is a former Republican Party Representative from the US state of Tennessee, having represented all of Henderson, Chester, Decatur and Perry Counties. Biography Early life and family Steve K. McDaniel was born on October 20 ...

- District 72 *

Jimmy Eldridge Jimmy A. Eldridge (born April 1, 1948 in Jackson, Tennessee) is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives who represented District 73 from 2003 until 2019. Education Eldridge earned his BS ...

- District 73 * Jay Reedy - District 74 * Tim Wirgau - District 75 * Andy Holt - District 76 * Bill Sanderson - District 77 * Mary Littleton - District 78 * Curtis Halford - District 79 * Debra Moody, District 81 * Mark White - District 83 *

Roger Kane Roger Kane (born 1963) is an American politician. He is a Republican and former member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 89th district, encompassing part of Knox County, Tennessee, including Knoxville. Biography Early life He was ...

, District 89 * Billy Spivey, District 92 * Barrett Rich - District 94 * - District 95 * Jim Coley - District 97 * Ron Lollar - District 99

Current structure

Here is the structure of the party as of December 2011

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 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. *33 districts *66 total representatives of the TRP *33 are male *33 are female

Notable Tennessee Republicans

* Fred Thompson *

Bill Frist William Harrison Frist (born February 22, 1952) is an American physician, businessman, and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1995 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as Senate Majority Lea ...

Don Sundquist Donald Kenneth Sundquist (born March 15, 1936) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 47th Governor of Tennessee from 1995 to 2003. Prior to his governorship, he represented Tennessee's 7th congressional district in the Uni ...

* Howard Baker *

Bill Brock William Emerson Brock III (November 23, 1930 – March 25, 2021) was an American Republican politician who served in both chambers of the United States Congress from 1963 to 1977 and later in the United States Cabinet from 1981 to 1987. He was ...

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is a retired American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from ...

Bob Corker Robert Phillips Corker Jr. (born August 24, 1952) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Rela ...

Controversial comment

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.

Corruption

*In July 2009 state senator

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who is the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's most popula ...

resigned after being caught in a sexual relationship with a 22-year-old intern. Paul Stanley was known for running for family values. 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." * Keith Westmoreland a Republican Tennessee State Representative was arrested on 7 felony counts of lewd and exposing himself to girls under the age 16. He committed suicide before he could be prosecuted. *

Operation Tennessee Waltz Operation Tennessee Waltz was a sting operation set up by federal and state law enforcement agents, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). The operation led to the arrest of seven Tennessee ...

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.

Past elections

In 2008 the Republican won a historic victory, when the party won majorities in both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly for the first time since the reconstruction era election of 1868.

Presidential elections

Like other Southern states, before 1960s Tennessee was a solid state of the Democratic Party. Since 1972 the Republican Party has won Tennessee in 7 out of 11 elections. It won Tennessee only except 1976, 1992 and 1996.

Past Republican governors

* Edward H. East 1865 * William G. Brownlow 1865-1869 * Dewitt C. Senter 1869-1871 * Alvin Hawkins 1881-1883 * Ben W. Hooper 1911-1915 * Alfred A. Taylor 1921-1923 *

1971-1975 *

1979-1987 *

1995-2003 *

Bill Haslam William Edward Haslam (; born August 23, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman and politician who served as the 49th governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Haslam previously served as the 67th mayor of ...

2011–2019

Coalitions

*African American Development Council * College Republicans *

Republican Jewish Coalition The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), formerly the National Jewish Coalition, founded in 1985, is a political group in the United States that supports Jewish Republicans. The organization has more than 47 chapters throughout the United States. ...

*Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Tennessee * Teenage Republicans *

Young Republicans The Young Republican National Federation, commonly referred to as the Young Republicans or YRNF, is a 527 organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization ...

*Tennessee Federation of Republican Women

Former Chairmen

* Thomas W. Beasley, from 1977 to 1981. *Jim Burnett, from 1995 to 1999. * Chip Saltsman, from 1999 to 2001. *

Beth Harwell Beth Halteman Harwell (born July 24, 1957, in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is a member of the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the former List of Speakers of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Speaker of the Tennessee Ho ...

, from 2001 to 2004. *Bob Davis, from 2005 to August 2007. * Robin Smith, from August 4, 2007, to May 30, 2009. * Chris Devaney, from 2009 to 2015 * Ryan Haynes, from 2015 to 2016.

References

External links

Tennessee Republican PartyTennessee Federation of Republican WomenTennessee Federation of College RepublicansTennessee Young Republican FederationTennessee Teenage Republicans Republican Jewish Federation
{{Authority control Republican Party