Tre Hargett

Gus Lusk "Tre" Hargett III (born February 7, 1969) is an American Republican Party politician who is serving as the 37th Secretary of State of Tennessee since 2009.

Tre Hargett
Hargett in 2014
37th Secretary of State of Tennessee
Assumed office
January 15, 2009
Governor
Preceded byRiley Darnell
Chair of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority
In office
February 2008 – January 2009
GovernorPhil Bredesen
Preceded byPat Miller
Succeeded byKenneth Hill
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 97th district
In office
1996–2006
Preceded byTim Joyce
Succeeded byJim Coley
Personal details
Born
Gus Lusk Hargett III

(1969-02-07) February 7, 1969
Ripley, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDawn Simbeck
Children2
Parent
EducationUniversity of Memphis (BA, MBA)
Signature
WebsiteGovernment website

Early life and education

He is the son of Tennessee Adjutant General Gus L. Hargett Jr. and Mrs. Pat Vaughan. He is a Southern Baptist.[1]

Hargett earned a B.B.A. in accounting with honors, as well as an M.B.A. from the University of Memphis.

Career before politics

In the private sector, Hargett worked for Rural/Metro, an emergency services provider. At the time of his appointment as TRA chairman, Hargett was serving as the corporation's Vice President for the Southern Region.[2]

Tenure in state legislature and Tennessee Regulatory Authority

Hargett served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1996 to 2006 representing District 97 (Bartlett and Memphis).[3] He was twice elected Republican Leader by his colleagues.

In 2007, he was nominated to the position of Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) chairman, which sets the rates and service standards of privately owned telephone, natural gas, electric and water utilities.[2][4] He was confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly and served from February 2008 through January 2009. He was succeeded by Dr. Kenneth Hill.[5]

Tenure as secretary of state

In January 2009, the state legislature's new Republican majority voted to replace longtime Secretary of State Riley Darnell with Hargett. Hargett immediately resigned from his position as TRA chairman and took office as secretary of state on January 15, 2009.

In September 2017, a state debate took place on whether to remove a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, inside the Tennessee State Capitol. Hargett said he favored keeping the bust.[6]

In 2019, Hargett supported legislation which would make it possible to fine voter registration groups that submitted incomplete voter registrations.[7][8] Critics charged that the legislation was intended to reduce registration of new voters.[9] Hargett denied that the bill was intended to reduce registration of black voters.[9]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee, Hargett opposed allowing voters who fear catching or spreading the coronavirus to vote by mail in the 2020 elections. A state judge overruled Hargett's position, holding that Tennessee must allow vote by mail for all voters and that the restrictions on vote by mail that Hargett sought to impose were "an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution."[10]

In June 2022, Hargett was arrested in Tullahoma, Tennessee, after leaving a bar after attending the Bonnaroo Music Festival, and was charged with driving under the influence. He took a "best interest" plea deal in October 2022, in which he pleaded guilty but maintained his innocence.[11]

Secretary of State electoral history
2009 Tennessee Secretary of State election[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Tre Hargett 70 53.44%
Democratic Riley Darnell (incumbent) 61 46.56%
Total votes 131 100.00%

References
  1. Starr, Susan. "Tennessee House Member, 100th Assembly". www.capitol.tn.gov.
  2. "12/7/2007 - Ramsey Nominates Hargett For Tennessee Regulatory Authority - Breaking News". Chattanoogan.com. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  3. Starr, Susan. "Tennessee House Member, 99th General Assembly". www.capitol.tn.gov.
  4. "Subscription". The Tennessean. December 7, 2007. p. E2. Retrieved May 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "9 May 2009, 12 - The Jackson Sun at Newspapers.com". Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  6. Wade Gervin, Cari (September 1, 2017). "Vote to remove Forrest bust fails". Nashville Post. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  7. Martínez-Beltrán, Sergio (April 2, 2019). "Voter Registration Groups Could Soon Be Fined If They Submit Incomplete Applications". Nashville Public Radio. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  8. Stevens, Matt (April 16, 2019). "Tennessee Advances Bill That Could Make It Harder to Register New Voters". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  9. Ebert, Joel (April 2, 2019). "Voter registration groups could face fines for too many incomplete forms under new bill". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  10. "Judge: Tennessee must allow vote by mail for all amid virus". Associated Press. Retrieved June 9, 2020 – via Citizen Tribune.
  11. Melissa Brown, Secretary of State Tre Hargett takes plea deal in DUI case, Nashville Tennessean (October 13, 2022).
  12. "GOP sweeps constitutional officer vote". The Leaf-Chronicle. January 16, 2009. p. 7. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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