Image Credit: Representative Tim Rudd / Facebook & Antony-22 / CC
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Representative Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro-District 34) assumed office in November of 2016 and is running for reelection this year.
Below is a non-exhaustive but detailed look at Rep. Rudd’s voting record from the last several years.
Rudd previously co-sponsored a resolution back in 2021, to nullify federal Covid-19 restrictions (SJR9005).
Additionally, he voted in favor of medical freedom by prohibiting state and local governments from requiring or mandating that private businesses require proof of Covid-19 vaccination for entry or utilization of services (HB0575).
In 2021 Rudd also:
Co-sponsored pro-life legislation (HB1252).
Co-sponsored legislation to protect parental rights in education by requiring that public schools notify parents prior to exposing students to “sexual orientation or gender identity” curriculum (HB0529).
Voted in favor of legislation prohibiting local governments or the executive head of a local government from creating categories or classes of “nonessential” and “essential” businesses, trades, professions, etc. for the purposes of suspending lawful commerce, encumbering trade, or denying citizens the right to work (HB0037).
Other legislative action Rudd took in 2022:
• Voted in favor of legislation to protect children in schools (HB2454).
• Voted in favor of anti-DEI legislation (HB2670).
• Co-sponsored legislation supporting medical freedom and natural immunity to Covid-19 (HB1871).
• Co-sponsored legislation to make Ivermectin an over-the-counter drug in Tennessee (HB2746)
• Voted against “The Incumbent Protection Bill” (HB1201).
• Voted in favor of legislation to protect teachers from being forced to use students’ preferred pronouns (HB2633)
• Voted in favor of a resolution to make The Holy Bible Tennessee’s official state book (HJR0752).
Legislative action taken by Rudd in 2023:
• Voted in favor of pro-life legislation that prohibited local governments from expending funds to assist a woman in obtaining a criminal abortion (HB0090).
• Voted in favor of protecting children from obscene materials in schools (HB0841).
• Voted in favor of legislation to protect children from being exposed to drag show performances (HB0009).
• Voted in favor of protecting parental rights by requiring the written consent of a parent or guardian before a healthcare professional can provide a vaccine to a minor (HB1380), as well as before a student may receive gender identity instruction or health services through a coordinated school program (HB0727).
• Voted in favor of legislation to uphold state sovereignty by limiting foreign ownership of real property in Tennessee (HB0040).
• Voted in favor of government transparency by requiring state and local governments to allow time for public comment at publicly-held meetings (HB0448).
• Voted in favor of banning public schools, colleges and the Department of Education from requiring employees to participate in implicit bias training (HB0158).
• Voted in favor of legislation stating that public school faculty and staff are not required to refer to students by preferred pronouns (HB1269).
• Co-sponsored legislation banning “gender affirming” surgeries for minors in Tennessee (HB0001).
In The Tennessee Conservative’s 2023 RINO Report, Rudd was given a shout out for casting a voice vote in favor of HB0405, an election integrity bill that would have closed Tennessee’s primary elections if it had not been killed in committee.
He also cast a voice vote in favor of HB1045, which would have combated crossover voting in Tennessee’s primary elections. However, this bill was also killed in committee.
However, also in 2023, Rudd made some questionable choices with some of his votes that resulted in with him being called out several times in The Tennessee Conservative’s 2023 RINO Report.
A bill that aimed to limit out-of-state campaign funding for Tennessee political candidates was killed in the House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee that was chaired by Rudd. Rudd called for a voice vote on the legislation and it failed. Due to the voice vote, none of the votes of the subcommittee member’s were recorded and only Rudd replied when we contacted the members to ask about their votes. Rudd voted No on the bill’s passage.
A similar choice was made by Rudd on HB0246 that aimed to improve the reporting of death records in relation to voter rolls. Again, Rudd called for voice vote, shielding the members from a record of their vote and the bill failed. Only Representative Clay Doggett requested to have his Aye voted counted. When we contacted the remaining members to ask about their votes, only Rudd replied that he had voted No.
And finally, Rudd was one of five of the Campaign Finance Subcommittee members who voted NO against legislation that sought to let the public voted on whether elected and appointed officials should be term limited.
During the 2024 legislative session Rudd:
• Voted in favor pro-life legislation to criminalize the abortion trafficking of minors (HB1895).
• Voted for illegal immigration legislation that increases penalties up to life in prison without parole for illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes (HB1872).
• Co-sponsored legislation that allows individuals who traffic minors across state lines for sex reassignment procedures to face civil penalties by the minor’s parents (HB2310).
• Voted in favor of legislation that authorizes the death penalty for child rapists (HB1663).
• Voted in favor of school safety measures that don’t infringe on the 2nd Amendment rights of Tennesseans by allowing certain faculty and staff members to conceal carry “subject to certain conditions” (HB1202) and requiring public schools to provide students with age-appropriate firearm safety instruction (HB2882).
• Sponsored (HB1955) and voted in favor of election integrity legislation (HB0835).
• Voted in favor of allowing private schools to adopt their own handgun carry policies (HB1631).
• Voted in favor of the “Laken Riley Act of 2024” which removes the criminal offense of carrying a non-lethal self-defense weapon on college campuses (HB1909).
• Voted to protect children by increasing the penalty for child endangerment by a parent or guardian of a child eight years or younger (HB1817).
• Voted in favor of the “Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Act” which prohibits DCS from requiring potential foster and adoptive parents to support policies concerning sexual orientation or gender identity (HB2169).
• Voted to protect religious exemptions and prohibit DCS from requiring immunizations in order to place children in foster and adoptive homes (HB1726).
• Co-sponsored legislation clarifying that a person is not required to “solemnize” a marriage if that person objects due to conscience or religious beliefs (HB0878).
• Voted in favor of banning chemical weather modification (HB2063).
• Voted in favor of legislation that would have banned Pride Flags and other ideological and political flags from public school classrooms (HB1605).
• Voted to protect patient and family rights regarding hospital visitation under a declaration of disaster or emergency issued by the state (HB1883).
• Co-sponsored legislation requiring Tennessee law enforcement to report illegal immigrants in their custody to the federal government (HB2124).
Co-sponsored legislation to prevent red flag gun laws by preempting the entire field of legislation regarding extreme risk protection orders or ERPOs (HB2035).
• Voted to prohibit credit card companies and banks from requiring firearms retailers to be identified by a separate code or denying a legal firearms purchase based on that code (HB2762).
• Voted in favor of legislation allowing law enforcement to assign SROs to schools that fail to request one (HB1664).
The Tennessee Legislative Report Card gave Rudd a voting score of 85 for the 2024 legislative session, a lifetime voting score of 83, and a B grade in leadership.
According to the report, only 36.43% of his campaign contributions come from special interests.
Rudd does have a GOP challenger, in the form of Tucker Marcum, in the upcoming primary election.
Marcum’s platform focuses on alleviating the cost of growth, producing results for Rutherford County, lawmaker accessibility for constituents, lower taxes and tax eliminations, investing in public education, and fighting self-serving politicians and corruption.
