Five challengers in closely watched House races outraise incumbents in latest campaign filings

Elections
Written By Sky Arnold

Allie Phillips (upper left), Bryan Goldberg (upper center), Jesse Huseth (upper right), Luis Mata (bottom left), and Jennifer Frensley Webb (bottom right) (Photos by each candidate’s campaign)

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.

Phillips has focused her campaign on her personal story of being unable to get an abortion under Tennessee’s laws that are among the most restrictive in the country.

Allie Phillips and her family (Photo by Phillips Campaign)

“I decided to run for office after I was unable to receive a medically necessary abortion here in TN. My daughter was dying & she was putting my life at risk in the process. TN didn’t care… they still don’t. There are 0 exceptions for non viable pregnancies. 0 exceptions for rape or incest and 0 exceptions for women to choose what’s best for themselves,” wrote Phillips on her Facebook page Monday.

On the issue of education, Phillips lists providing high-quality public schools and school safety as priorities. Burkhart has also prioritized school safety during the campaign, touting proper funding for school resource officers (SROs) along with teachers and schools. Last year he voted in favor of the historic increase in teacher pay.

“Every day on the job. I am fighting to make our community a safer, more prosperous place to live. Whether securing a second DMV location, cutting taxes. or fighting to keep our kids safe at school, I will never apologize for putting Montgomery County first,” wrote Burkhart on Facebook last week.

Representative Jeff Burkhart (second from the left) with supporters (Photo by Burkhart Campaign)

House District 75 is one of four races where Democratic challengers reported higher contributions than their incumbent Republican opponents last week.

For the second straight campaign filing, Mexican immigrant and public policy advocate Luis Mata outraised Representative Mike Sparks, R-Smyrna, in House District 49, reporting $46,211 in contributions to the incumbent’s $20,250.

Memphis Democrat Jesse Huseth also outraised his Republican opponent Representative John Gillespie, R-Memphis, for the second straight filing, reporting $30,969 in contributions to Gillespie’s $25,690.

In Knox County’s House District 18, Democrat challenger Bryan Goldberg reported $63,393 in contributions to his opponent  Representative Elaine Davis’, R-Knoxville, $17,194. That’s a reversal from the last campaign filing where Davis outraised Goldberg by nearly $14 thousand.

Democrats have targeted these four seats in hopes of whittling down the Republican supermajority in the House, but there are two closely watched races in Middle Tennessee where the GOP has high hopes for picking off an incumbent.

One of them is in Davidson County’s House District 50, where incumbent Republican Metro Council Member Jennifer Frensley Webb outraised Representative Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, reporting $10,525 to Mitchell’s $4,500.

Incumbent Representative Ronnie Glynn, D-Clarksville, had the fundraising edge in Montgomery County’s House District 67, reporting $43,165 in contributions to his Republican challenger Jamie Dean Peltz’s $20,726.

Two open seats that are closely watched by political insiders, are seeing the party that currently holds them retain a fundraising advantage this filing.

In Chattanooga’s House District 27 Republican Michele Reneau reported $26,988 in contributions to Democrat Kathy Lennon’s $17,821. Representative Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain, has held House District 27 but Reneau unseated her in the Republican primary last August.

In Davidson County’s House District 60, Democrat Shaundelle Brooks reported $18,318 in contributions to Republican Chad Bobo’s $16,553. This seat opened for challengers when Representative Darren Jernigan, D-Old Hickory, announced he wouldn’t run for re-election.

All 99 House seats are up for grabs in the November fifth General Election.  Currently Republicans hold 75 of those seats.

Sky Arnold

Sky serves as the Managing Editor of the Tennessee Fireflly. He’s a veteran television journalist with two decades of experience covering news in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Tennessee where he covered government for Fox 17 News in Nashville and WBBJ in Jackson. He’s a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and a big supporter of the Oklahoma Sooners.