Tennessee Republican Party | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Scott Golden |
| Governor of Tennessee | Bill Lee |
| Senate Leader | Lt. Gov.Randy McNally |
| House Leader | SpeakerCameron Sexton |
| Headquarters | 95 White Bridge Road, Suite 414 Nashville, Tennessee 37205 |
| Ideology | Conservatism |
| National affiliation | Republican Party |
| Colors | Red (unofficial) |
| United States Senate delegation | 2 / 2 |
| United States House of Representatives delegation | 8 / 9 |
| Seats in theTennessee State Senate | 27 / 33 |
| Seats in theTennessee House of Representatives | 75 / 99 |
| Election symbol | |
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| Website | |
| tngop | |
TheTennessee Republican Party (TRP orTNGOP) is the affiliate of theUnited States Republican Party inTennessee. Since the mid-1960s, the state has become increasingly Republican. The current chairman of the Republican Party of Tennessee is Scott Golden. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all but one of Tennessee's nineU.S. House seats, bothU.S. Senate, thegovernorship, and has supermajorities in both houses of thestate legislature.
Upon its entry into the Union in 1796, Tennessee was stronglyDemocratic-Republican. Tennessee became a two-party system for more than 20 years during theJacksonian era. The Democratic Party was formed by Jackson followers, and this party was dominant against the rivalWhig Party led byHenry Clay. But in 1835, there was a turn in power of party, and a Whig governor was elected. Tennessee, after theAmerican 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, in1966,Howard Baker was elected US senator. Then again Republicans made another push whenWinfield 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 candidateFred 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 theTennessee General Assembly for the first time since theReconstruction 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 inTennessee's 3rd congressional district in the August 2010 Republicanprimary.[6]
The Chairman of the Republican Party of Tennessee is Scott Golden, who was elected on December 3, 2016.[7]
The Tennessee Republican Party controls the governor's office and a supermajority 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.
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As of 2024:
As of 2024:
Here is the structure of the party as of December 2011[8]
The state executive committee (SEC) operates as the governing body for the state party. They establish rules and measures that best promote the success of the Republican Party and the broadening of its base. The SEC serves as the TRP's state primary board and establishes to guide and direct County Republican Parties. One man and one woman are elected from each state senate district.[9]
In the2010 Tennessee gubernatorial election, Republican nomineeBill Haslam flipped the governors seat. With thestate legislature also being controlled by Republicans, this established a historic Republicangovernment trifecta for the first time since the reconstruction era election of1869.[10] Ever since this election, Republicans have maintained their trifecta, electing Republicans since then.
In 2008 Republicans won a historic victory when the party won majorities in both chambers of theTennessee General Assembly for the first time since the reconstruction era election of 1868.[11]
Since 2008, Republicans have maintained their majorities in both chambers and gained a historicSupermajority in both chambers in 2012.[12]
Like other Southern states, before the 1960s, Tennessee was a solidly Democratic state. However, that started to change in the 1970s.
Since2000, Republicans have maintained their presidential election winning streak. The last time Tennessee voted for a Democratic presidential nominee was in1996
Republicans have held hold both of the state'sU.S. Senate seats since1994. The current Republican senators areMarsha Blackburn andBill Hagerty.
Republicans have also held a majority ofU.S. House seats since2010. The current delegation is an 8-1 Republican majority.
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 SenatorJohn McCain and State Democratic Chairman Gray Sasser decried the press release.[21][22]
| Election | Gubernatorial candidate | Votes | Vote % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Don Sundquist | 807,104 | 54.27% | Won Y |
| 1998 | Don Sundquist | 669,973 | 68.63% | WonY |
| 2002 | Van Hilleary | 786,803 | 47.59% | Lost N |
| 2006 | Jim Bryson | 540,853 | 29.74% | LostN |
| 2010 | Bill Haslam | 1,041,545 | 65.03% | WonY |
| 2014 | Bill Haslam | 951,796 | 70.31% | WonY |
| 2018 | Bill Lee | 1,336,106 | 59.56% | WonY |
| 2022 | Bill Lee | 1,129,390 | 64.91% | WonY |
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