Image Credit: TN General Assembly, @JohnnyGarrett / X, The Other 98% / Facebook & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
As predicted, the congressional redistricting map passed the Republican-controlled General Assembly on the last day of the Second Extraordinary Session of the 114th General Assembly, much to the dismay of Democrats who have protested and objected every step of the way over claims the cracking of Shelby County into three districts is racist and a form of voter suppression.
For more detailed explanations of the individual pieces of legislation, see coverage from Day 2 of the special session.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton issued a warning to the gallery Thursday morning, telling them that should disruptive behavior occur and the responsible individual be unidentifiable, the entire gallery would be cleared and barred from reentry. McNally gave a similar warning to observers in the Senate.
HB7002/SB7002– Deletes statutory language limiting congressional redistricting to after the decennial census
In the House: Democrat Jason Powell immediately started debate on the bill shouting at members that the call of Governor and entire proceeding was “illegal” because of the existing statute which has been in place for almost 50 years limiting redistricting to after the census.
The act of creating or changing statute through legislation is a legal process and the primary job of the legislature, regardless of how long a statute has been in place or if members agree with the policy itself. But Democrats consistently used the “illegal” argument in their debate on this bill.
One gallery section was removed after Powell’s comments with individuals heard yelling insults as they were escorted out, and Sexton issued a second warning to the remaining observers.
Many Democrat statements hinged on emotional anecdotes, pleas, and angry rants, including one from Gloria Johnson who said she refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance with the body because it is “so disingenuous to say it with folks who in a few minutes are going to vote against justice for all.”
“This is not a special session, this is a white power rally and a white power grab,” she declared. “Vote ‘Yes’, you’re telling everyone you’re a racist.”
The rest of the Democrats speaking against the bill echoed similar sentiments and talking, or yelling, points or used passages from Scripture to justify their positions. Republicans elected not to use their debate time, simply renewing the motion and moving to the vote.
HB7002 passed 66-24 along party lines, with Republicans Monty Fritts, John Gillespie, Michele Reneau, Greg Vital, and Mark White marking themselves “Present Not Voting”.
In the Senate: Democrat arguments mirrored those in the House, claiming the session and redistricting is “illegal” yet justifying the recent Democrat gerrymandering in California and Virginia despite a recent ruling by a Virgina judge that the process was performed unconstitutionally.
The bill passed 22-8 with Republicans Janice Bowling and Todd Gardenhire joining the six Senate Democrats in voting “No”.
HB7001/SB7001– Revises candidate qualifications & requirements for the 2026 congressional election
In the House: Rep. Justin Jones tried to add amendments on the floor but started his speaking time by handing Rep. William Lamberth a picture of the Confederate flag before being called out of order by Sexton. In his rantings, Jones failed to actually move both his amendments in his allotted speaking time, so they died.
Democrats then proposed 35 additional last-minute floor amendments to grandstand in their objection to the bill, but all were voted down, and Sexton removed an entire balcony followed by the remainder of the East gallery as they hissed and started chanting as the amendments failed.
After the consideration of amendments, which does not count as debate time, Democrats renewed their protestations to the compressed timeline candidates would fall under and the “oppression of minorities” in their allotted time. Republicans again did not use their debate time, with Lamberth just answering a couple clarifying questions from Democrats before moving to the vote.
HB7001 passed 68-25 with Republican John Gillespie joining Democrats to vote “No” and Republicans Monty Fritts, Michele Reneau, and Greg Vital marking themselves “Present Not Voting”.
In the Senate: After a statement of opposition by Sen. London Lamar, no other questions or comments were made by Democrats and Republican Adam Lowe encouraged bipartisan support of the bill as it creates education processes for voters to help familiarize them with any new proceedings and allows the local election commissions to take advantage of the financial support set in the appropriations bill.
This bill passed 23-7 with Republican Todd Gardenhire voting “No” alongside Democrats.
HB7005/SB7005– Appropriates over $3 million for the cost of the special session and implementation of the redistricting
In the House: Rep. Ryan Williams reiterated that the appropriations designated in the bill will cover 100% of the local expenditures associated with the implementation of the redistricting and the cost of the special session.
The question was immediately called by Rep. Jake McCalmon and the body voted 69-23 along party lines to pass HB7005. Republicans John Gillespie, Michele Reneau, Greg Vital, and Mark White marked themselves “Present Not Voting”.
In the Senate: Sen. Heidi Campbell reused Democrat talking points made in earlier committees objecting to the fiscal note and how it was estimated, but there were no further questions or comments before Sen. Watson closed, reiterating that they have provided “more than adequate resources” for local election commissions impacted by the legislation.
The appropriations measure passed 24-6 along party lines.
HB7003/SB7004– New proposed congressional district lines
In the House: More Democrat amendments were voted down, and questions were fielded by Rep. Jason Zachary about the data used in the creation of the new maps and their impact on Black voters.
Rep. Johnny Shaw played on religious affiliation, claiming Republicans voting for the redistricting were somehow working against God.
“You’re not stopping anything,” he said. “So, what I’m telling you folks today is it doesn’t matter what you pass, how you draw maps, you can draw them any way you want to, you cannot stop God’s people. You are not doing anything but hurting yourself…you have to live with yourself.”
Yusuf Hakeem made a similar appeal to Christian House members, saying the redistricting is an effort ”to play with God”. “I go to Bible study with some in this room, and you’re going to tell me that taking the rights away from others is what God has put in your mind of what you should be doing?” he demanded.
Over their remaining debate time, more Democrats continued to use their ideas about the Christian faith to attack the bill while others called Pres. Trump corrupt, “devilish”, and a White supremacist for pushing the redistricting, leveled accusations of trying to rig elections, and continued to propagate the claim the entire redistricting effort is racist.
When Republicans tried to utilize their speaking time, the remaining gallery erupted with shouts, chants, and noisemakers in what appeared to be an organized protest, and Democrats gathered in the well, linking arms in a show of solidarity. In response, Rep. Lamberth yielded the entire Republican debate time, which moved the body directly to a vote.
The new map passed 64-25, with Republicans John Gillespie and Mark White joining all House Democrats in voting “No”. Republicans Michele Reneau, Ron Travis, and Greg Vital marked themselves “Present Not Voting”. Several other Republicans, including Johnny Garrett, Bud Hulsey, and Chris Todd, seem to have missed the vote entirely because they could not hear proceedings over the pandemonium or Democrats blocked their desks while protesting.
Lamberth then introduced a resolution to adjourn the special session sine die, meaning without a set date to reconvene, over the din of the crowd, which passed and officially ended the House’s portion of the week.
In the Senate: In presenting SB7004, Sen. John Stevens reminded members that Democrat states across the nation have “maximized their partisan priorities through the redistricting process” and said the effort is a legitimate response by Tennessee.
All Senate Democrats took their speaking time to make arguments that the bill is an “attack on Black voting power”, recycle leading questions, made emotional pleas, weaponize Christianity against Republicans, and criticize Republicans’ assertions that race metrics were not used in drawing the new map.
All these speeches culminated in an incredible lack of decorum and respect by Sen. Charlane Oliver who climbed atop her desk after concluding her statements wherein she raved about racial disparities and claimed Republicans would “never know what it’s like to struggle.”
Holding a huge homemade banner reading “No Jim Crow 2.0 Stop the Steal”, she appeared to be yelling and chanting, though the audio feed in the room was cut so it remains unclear what she was saying. After a tug-of-war with a Sergeant at Arms, the banner was eventually taken away though she remained standing on her desk through the vote.
The remaining Democrats gathered in the well as a sign of protest, and the gallery was eventually cleared as the audience started chanting while Oliver was creating her spectacle.
And instead of having Oliver removed from the floor, Lt. Gov. McNally allowed business to proceed as Sen. Bill Powers called for the question on the bill. SB7004 passed 25-5 along party lines.
The Senate then passed their resolution to adjourn sine die, officially marking the end of the Second Extraordinary Session of the 114th General Assembly.
All four bills were signed into law by Gov. Lee almost immediately following the session’s conclusion, though a lawsuit was filed by the Tennessee NAACP Thursday afternoon. More suits may follow as Democrats seek to nullify the redistricting however they can.
Also withing hours of the redistricting being officially enacted, State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis-District 31) announced his candidacy for the newly created 9th Congressional District. He has already obtained the endorsements of U.S. Sens. Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
According to the candidate requirements passed as part of the redistricting package, he will have until noon on May 15 to qualify for the ballot.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
4 Responses
WAKE-UP CONSERVATIVES! With Brent Taylor declaring for the newly drawn Dist. 9th before the ink is dry on the redistricting legislation and Marsha, Hagerty and other heavy hitters quickly endorsing him with a filing deadline one week away me thinks the fix is already in on this thing.
Trouble is, Brent Taylor gets a pretty unimpressive conservative rating of 73/A from the Tennessee Legislative Report Card so I say “Not so fast!”. How about Gino Bulso, for example, with an 82/A+? Gino demonstrated a “troubling” soft spot for illegal immigrants at the close of the General Assembly session that should be investigated during the campaign but otherwise he has been a fabulous conservative, and he ran for congress in Dist 7 a few months ago so he seems to be interested in going to Washington and heck, this time he may actually live in the district he would represent.
Your point is??
Oh come on doc, anyone bright enough to have gone through med school should be able to pick up on the fact that I’m concerned that the centrism/tepid conservatism that our state senate is so famous for will spread to the US House if we elect someone with a TLRC conservative score of only73/A to the House from Dist. 9.
It’s a thing of beauty to watch the race hustlers finally get their long-deserved smackdown, after perpetuating their scam for decades.
In the very wise words of Thomas Sowell: “When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination.”