Tennessee Republican Party

Upon its entry into the Union in 1796 Tennessee was strongly Democratic-Republican. Tennessee became a two-party system for more than 20 years during the Jacksonian era. The Democratic Party was formed by Jackson followers and this party was dominant against the rival Whig Party led by Henry Clay. But in 1835, there was a turn in power of party and a Whig governor was elected. Tennessee after the American Civil War was part of the Democratic South for about a century. East Tennessee however remained strongly Republican. Even though the state was predominantly Democratic, two different presidential elections won the state of Tennessee in 1920 and 1928. In the 1960s and 1970s Republicans made a push into the Democratic power when in 1966, Howard Baker was elected US senator. Then again Republicans made another push, when Winfield Dunn was elected governor, the first Republican Governor in over 50 years.[1]

Republicans rarely held seats in the U.S. House from the South during the Solid South period with the party only holding two seats in Tennessee between 1947 and 1952, out of the 105 seats in the south. [2] Republicans won 80 of 2,565 congressional elections in the south during the first half of the 20th century. 50 of these victories were in eastern Tennessee.[3]

The Tennessee Republican Party has had five chairmen since 2005. On December 11, 2004, the State Executive Committee unanimously elected Bob Davis[4] as Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party to serve for the calendar years 2005 and 2006. He was subsequently elected to a second two-year term, 2007 and 2008, but resigned from the chairmanship in August 2007 to become Senior Adviser to presidential candidate Fred Thompson. The party's State Executive Committee then chose Robin Smith,[5] former chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party and vice chairman of the Tennessee GOP under Davis, to complete Davis's two-year term.

Republicans won a victory in Tennessee's 2008 elections, when the party won majorities in both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly for the first time since the Reconstruction Era election of 1868. Smith was unanimously re-elected at the end of 2008 to a full two-year term as chairman for calendar years 2009 and 2010. In April 2009, Smith announced her resignation in order to run for Congress in Tennessee's 3rd congressional district in the August 2010 Republican primary.[6]

The Tennessee Republican Party controls the governor's office and a majority in the Tennessee Senate and the Tennessee House of Representatives. Republicans hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats and 8 of the state's 9 U.S. House seats.

Statewide offices

Governor Bill Lee

• Governor: Bill Lee
• Lieutenant Governor: Randy McNally

Here is the structure of the party as of December 2011[8]

• Fred Thompson
• Bill Frist
• Don Sundquist
• Howard Baker
• Bill Brock
• Winfield Dunn
• Lamar Alexander
• Bob Corker

In 2008, the Tennessee Republican Party issued a press release that featured a photo of Senator Obama dressed in traditional Kenya clothing that the TN GOP called "Muslim attire" and used Obama's middle name "Hussein." Both Senator John McCain and State Democratic Chairman Gray Sasser decried the press release.[10][11]

• In July 2009 state senator Paul Stanley resigned after being caught in a sexual relationship with a 22-year-old intern. Paul Stanley was known for running for family values.[12] Stanley resigned because he wanted to focus more on his family and better that since his indiscretions. He was quoted saying "And just because I fell far short of what God's standard was for me and my wife, doesn't mean that that standard is reduced in the least bit."[13]
• Keith Westmoreland a Republican Tennessee State Representative was arrested on 7 felony counts of lewd and exposing himself to girls under the age 16. He committed suicide before he could be prosecuted.[14]
• Operation Tennessee Waltz was a statewide bribery sting, where 3 Democratic Senators and 1 Republican Representative were either convicted or pleaded guilty. 8 other people also either pleaded guilty or were convicted.[15]

In 2008 the Republican won a historic victory, when the party won majorities in both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly for the first time since the reconstruction era election of 1868.[16]

• Edward H. East 1865
• William G. Brownlow 1865-1869
• Dewitt C. Senter 1869-1871
• Alvin Hawkins 1881-1883
• Ben W. Hooper 1911-1915
• Alfred A. Taylor 1921-1923
• Winfield Dunn 1971-1975
• Lamar Alexander 1979-1987
• Don Sundquist 1995-2003
• Bill Haslam 2011–2019

• African American Development Council
• College Republicans
• Republican Jewish Coalition
• Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Tennessee
• Teenage Republicans
• Young Republicans
• Tennessee Federation of Republican Women

• Thomas W. Beasley, from 1977 to 1981.[17]
• Jim Burnett, from 1995 to 1999.
• Chip Saltsman, from 1999 to 2001.
• Beth Harwell, from 2001 to 2004.
• Bob Davis, from 2005 to August 2007.[18]
• Robin Smith, from August 4, 2007, to May 30, 2009.[19]
• Chris Devaney, from 2009 to 2015[20]
• Ryan Haynes, from 2015 to 2016.

• Black, Earl; Black, Merle (2002). The Rise of Southern Republicans. Harvard University Press. ISBN 067400728X.
• Moreland, Laurence; Steed, Robert; Baker, Tod, eds. (1991). The 1988 Presidential Election in the South: Continuity Amidst Change in Southern Party Politics. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0275931455.

• Tennessee Republican Party
• Tennessee Federation of Republican Women
• Tennessee Federation of College Republicans
• Tennessee Young Republican Federation
• Republican Platform
• Tennessee Teenage Republicans
• Republican Jewish Federation