Pictured: Gov. Bill Lee (left) & Sen. Jack Johnson (right) Image Credit: Senator Jack Johnson / Facebook & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
Despite uproar from local GOP groups across the state and grassroots organizations like Tennessee Stands, Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) has officially signed legislation into law that strips local political parties of their ability to hold caucuses or conventions in place of state-run primary elections when selecting their partisan candidates.
The Tennessee GOP State Executive Committee (SEC) even passed a resolution calling the bill a “betrayal” of trust.
House Bill 855 (HB0855)/Senate Bill 799 (SB0799) was filed by Rep. Lee Reeves (R-Franklin-District 65) and Sen. Jack Johnson (R-Franklin-District 27) via an amended caption bill less than a week after the conservative Elevate 2025 slate won their Williamson County GOP reorganization.
Critics have taken note of the seemingly retaliatory nature of this bill in conjunction with Williamson County Conservatives’ (WCC) appeal of the Williamson County GOP reorganization results.
HB0855/SB0799 mandates that county political parties use regular state-run primary elections to select party candidates for local races like mayor, sheriff, or county commission without the option to use a caucus or convention instead.
Under this law, counties that used another method besides a primary election during their 2022 and 2024 elections may continue to use that other method.
However, if such county chooses to switch to regular primary election at any point, they will not be allowed to switch back to a caucus or convention method in the future.
This essentially strips local political parties of their ability to conduct party business the way they see fit, putting the selection of local candidates in the hands of the state.
Williamson County GOP Chair Steve Hickey, who previously testified against HB0855/SB0799 before the Senate State and Local Government Committee has called the legislation “an assault on the autonomy of private political organizations.”
The bill passed with a 27-3 vote in the Senate on April 9th, 2025 and a 60-25 vote in the House on April 14th, 2025.
An $8 million budget amendment was later proposed and added to the state budget in connection with HB0855/SB0799 according to Senate Finance Chair Bo Watson’s (R-Hixson-District 11) statements in committee.
On the House floor debate grew intense as House Finance Chair Ryan Williams (R-Cookeville-District 42) repeatedly told his colleagues that the $8 million amendment had absolutely nothing to do with HB0855/SB0799.
Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill-District 92) and Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville-District 55) spoke on the House floor in opposition of the budget amendment on the basis that they were previously told that the connected legislation had no fiscal note.
It is our understanding that other conservative lawmakers would have liked to speak before the question was called on that amendment but they were not allowed the opportunity by House leadership.
Gov. Lee signed the bill into law on Thursday, April 24th, 2025.
Although Gov. Lee has never used his veto power on any piece of legislation, he has allowed plenty of bills to become law without his signature as a display of disapproval.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. Adelia is The Tennessee Conservative’s on-site reporter for the Tennessee General Assembly. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
Way to go, 3 Williamson county GOP politicians just gave the Dems total power to control GOP primary candidates. Thank Lee Reeves, Jack Johnson and Bill Lee. Now who do I vote for in Williamson County? In the last primary I did vote for Reeves but not Johnson. I’ve never voted for squishy Bill Lee.