Tennessee Governor Bill Lee wasted no time applauding President-elect Donald Trump’s pick of a former professional wrestling mogul to serve as the United States Secretary of Education.

Voters in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska have decisively rejected efforts to implement school voucher programs that would allow families to use tax dollars for private school enrollment.

Going into Tuesday night’s general election, Tennessee Democrats had high hopes of whittling into the Republican supermajority by winning a handful of House seats that are currently held by Republicans.  On the flipside, GOP leaders targeted growing their supermajority by flipping three Middle Tennessee seats currently held by Democrats.

Neither came to fruition, but one came close.

Last year, the Tennessee General Assembly attracted headlines when members held multiple hearings on the possibility of rejecting up to a billion dollars in federal education funding. Lawmakers ultimately didn’t go forward with that idea, but that doesn’t mean it’s dead. Republican House District 27 candidate Michele Reneau said in a recent interview that she’s open to the possibility of rejecting federal education dollars.

Over the course of their presidential campaigns, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have focused most of their rhetoric on their differences in topics relating to immigration policy, the economy, gun laws, and reproductive rights. However, the two candidates also have notable differences when it comes to education.

Tennessee Democrats continue to report strong fundraising by multiple challengers in closely watched House races.

Leading the pack is House District 75 challenger Allie Phillips who reported $46,915 in contributions on last week’s Pre-General Campaign Report.  Phillips is running to unseat Representative Jeff Burkhart, R-Clarksville, who reported $18,700 in contributions.

An analysis of early voting numbers in Shelby County show lower turnout could be hindering the challenger in one of the state’s closest watched House races where Democrat Jesse Huseth is vying to unseat Rep. John Gillespie, R-Memphis, in House District 97.

A new statewide survey from the Beacon Center of Tennessee found that Tennessee voters are “more likely to vote for candidates” who support school choice by a 40-point margin.

Learn more about the recent Beacon poll findings.

Hamilton County Schools will move forward with a plan to provide transportation to early voting sites for students who are eligible to vote, despite some debate about the initiative among Republican and Democrat board members at Thursday’s school board meeting.

Tennessee Democrats’ hopes of cutting into at least some of the Republican House supermajority in next Month’s general election received a boost with this week’s campaign filings.

Three Democratic challengers outraised their Incumbent Republican opponents according to third-quarter reports.

Members of the Tennessee Republican State Primary Board resoundingly rejected Representative John Ragan’s, R-Oak Ridge, challenge of the August primary he lost to Former Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough.

Members of the Tennessee Republican State Primary Board will decide State Representative John Ragan’s, R-Oak Ridge, primary loss challenge Saturday afternoon in Mount Juliet.

Tennessee Republican Party Chair Scott Golden and the board scheduled a hearing for the challenge 2:30 P.M. September 7 at the Mount Juliet Hilton Garden Inn.

Scarbrough beat seven term Representative John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, by 258 votes in the House District 33 GOP primary.  At the time there were no complaints of voter irregularities, but Scarbrough says he expects his former opponent to contest the win anyway.

Despite being called a "RINO" by former President Donald Trump, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has reaffirmed his support for Trump and his 2024 presidential campaign.

Congressional Democrats are at risk of shedding a critical voting bloc in swing states: Black and Hispanic voters who say their concerns about improving public education and increasing access to schools beyond their zip codes are falling on deaf ears. 

Tom Stinnett

Today voters across the state will decide the primary races for 16 State Senate seats along with all 99 State House seats. Very few of these seats are expected to be highly competitive in the November general election, so tonight’s primaries will have a big impact on the General Assembly that returns to Nashville next year.

Video recorded by one of Senator Jon Lundberg’s, D-Bristol, campaign volunteers has led to misdemeanor theft and vandalism charges against the father of his opponent.

Fortified by a stream of Democratic endorsements and high-dollar donations, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared every bit the presidential contender when she appeared before the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers last week.

Former Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough continues to outraise Rep. John Ragan.