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John Gillespie

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John Gillespie

Republican Party

Candidate, Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Tenure

2020 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

Predecessor

Jim Coley

Compensation

Base salary

$28,405.96/year

Per diem

$326.47/day. Legislators living within 50 miles of the Capitol receive a reduced amount of $47 per day.

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Next election

August 6, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

High Point University

Personal

Birthplace

Memphis, Tenn.

Profession

Coordinator

Contact

John Gillespie (Republican Party) is a member of theTennessee House of Representatives, representingDistrict 97. He assumed office on November 3, 2020. His current term ends on November 3, 2026.

Gillespie (Republican Party) is running for re-election to theTennessee House of Representatives to representDistrict 97. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled onAugust 6, 2026.^[source]

Biography

John Gillespie was born in Memphis, Tennessee.^[1] Gillespie earned a B.A. in political science from High Point University.^[1]^[2] His career experience includes working as a financial service representative with First Tennessee Bank and a grant coordinator with Trezevant Episcopal Home.^[1]

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Gillespie was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Gillespie was assigned to the following committees:

Elections

2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 6, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

IncumbentJohn Gillespie is running in the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 on August 6, 2026.

		Candidate
		John Gillespie

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined.
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Endorsements

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2024

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

IncumbentJohn Gillespie defeatedJesse Huseth in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Gillespie (R)	51.7	16,368
	Jesse Huseth (D)	48.3	15,292

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 31,660
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Jesse Huseth advanced from the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jesse Huseth	100.0	3,100

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,100
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

IncumbentJohn Gillespie defeatedChristina Oppenhuizen in the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Gillespie	95.4	4,914
	Submit photo	Christina Oppenhuizen	4.6	236

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,150
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gillespie in this election.

2022

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

IncumbentJohn Gillespie defeatedToniko Harris in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Gillespie (R)	56.7	12,083
	Submit photo	Toniko Harris (D)	43.3	9,219

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 21,302
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Toniko Harris defeatedHouston Wolf in the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 on August 4, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Toniko Harris	50.2	2,855
		Houston Wolf	49.8	2,835

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,690
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

IncumbentJohn Gillespie advanced from the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 on August 4, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Gillespie	100.0	7,897

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,897
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

John Gillespie defeatedGabby Salinas in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	John Gillespie (R)	50.8	14,712
	Gabby Salinas (D)	49.2	14,246

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,958
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Gabby Salinas defeatedRuby Powell-Dennis,Allan Creasy, andClifford Stockton III in the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 on August 6, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Gabby Salinas	51.3	2,460
	Ruby Powell-Dennis	25.9	1,241
	Allan Creasy	13.9	665
	Clifford Stockton III	9.0	432

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,798
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

John Gillespie defeatedBrandon Weise in the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Gillespie	78.2	3,628
	Submit photo	Brandon Weise	21.8	1,009

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,637
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

To view Gillespie's endorsements in the 2020 election, pleaseclick here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

John Gillespie has not yet completedBallotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.If you are John Gillespie,click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

John Gillespie did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

John Gillespie did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

John Gillespie completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gillespie's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all |Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

John Gillespie is a native Memphian..

His professional career began in the banking business at First Tennessee. John learned the financial business from the ground up. He started as a Financial Service Representative opening new accounts and serving as the face of the bank. He later moved to Evolve Bank and Trust where he worked in the mortgage division. John reviewed home loans to ensure compliance before families closed on their new home.

John presently serves as Grant Coordinator at Trezevant Episcopal Home. He writes and researches grants, plans events, and solicits major gifts at Trezevant.

John is active in political campaigns and service organizations in our community. He served as Assistant Campaign Manager for former Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell's successful 2010 campaign. John is a member of the Phoenix Club of Memphis where he's helped raised funds for the Boys and Girls Club.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Education
Criminal Justice Reform (Sentencing Guidelines)
Economic Development for Shelby County

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Keeping people safe from crime should be the top priority of any government. I've had the pleasure of riding along with law enforcement officers on multiple occasions. These dedicated men and women perform a dangerous job and a critical role in keeping us safe. They deserve our support. As your State Representative, I will proudly have the back of our brave men and women in law enforcement.

I want the state to do more to help us combat the number one challenge in Memphis and Shelby County-violent crime. This means providing our community with the necessary resources for sufficient prosecutors and law enforcement officers. This also means ensuring we teach marketable skills to those inmates who can be rehabilitated so, when they are released from prison, they can obtain a good job and become responsible citizens. Reducing recidivism saves taxpayer dollars and makes our community safer.
COVID-19 ended the longest economic expansion in American history. Fortunately, many of the fundamentals of our economy remain strong-particularly, here in Tennessee. As a result, I believe we are well positioned for a strong recovery.
Tennessee is ranked as the most fiscally stable state in the country. Our state has the least debt of any state. When we do borrow money, we are able to borrow at a very low interest rate due to our excellent AAA bond rating.

I'll work to create jobs and rebuild our economy by supporting conservative fiscal policies that keep Tennessee on the ri

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

John Gillespie campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Tennessee House of Representatives District 97	Won general	$284,050	$288,837
2022	Tennessee House of Representatives District 97	Won general	$197,387	$146,449
2020	Tennessee House of Representatives District 97	Won general	$205,371	N/A**
Grand total			$686,807	$435,286
Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also:State legislative scorecards andState legislative scorecards in Tennessee

Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Tennessee scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].
In 2024, theTennessee State Legislature was in session from January 9 to April 25. Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Tennesseans for Student Success Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. Tennessee Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, theTennessee State Legislature was in session from January 9 to April 25.

Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community.

National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Tennesseans for Student Success

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Tennessee Right to Life

Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].
In 2023, theTennessee State Legislature was in session from January 10 to April 21. Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community. Tennesseans for Student Success Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The Institute for Legislative Analysis Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, theTennessee State Legislature was in session from January 10 to April 21.

Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community.

Tennesseans for Student Success

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

The Institute for Legislative Analysis

Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].
In 2022, theTennessee State Legislature was in session from January 11 to April 28. Americans for Prosperity Tennessee Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Tennesseans for Student Success Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. Tennessee Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, theTennessee State Legislature was in session from January 11 to April 28.

Americans for Prosperity Tennessee

Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy.

Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community.

National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Tennesseans for Student Success

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Tennessee Right to Life

Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].
In 2021, theTennessee State Legislature was in session from January 12 to May 5. Americans for Prosperity Tennessee Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community. Tennesseans for Student Success Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. Tennessee Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, theTennessee State Legislature was in session from January 12 to May 5.

Americans for Prosperity Tennessee

Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy.

Club for Growth Foundation

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.

Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community.

Tennesseans for Student Success

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

Tennessee Right to Life

Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].
In 2020, theTennessee State Legislature was in session from January 14 to June 19. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Family Action of Tennessee:Senate andHouse Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Tennesseans for Student Success (Select year on the side pull-down menu.) Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, theTennessee State Legislature was in session from January 14 to June 19.

Club for Growth Foundation

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.

Family Action of Tennessee:Senate andHouse

Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues.

National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.

Tennesseans for Student Success (Select year on the side pull-down menu.)

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

External links

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Candidate

Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

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Officeholder

Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Website

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Jim Coley (R)	Tennessee House of Representatives District 97 2020-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of theTennessee House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Cameron Sexton

Majority Leader:William Lamberth

Minority Leader:Karen Camper

Representatives

District 1

John Crawford (R)

District 2

Bud Hulsey (R)

District 3

Timothy Hill (R)

District 4

Renea Jones (R)

District 5

David Hawk (R)

District 6

Tim Hicks (R)

District 7

Rebecca Alexander (R)

District 8

Jerome Moon (R)

District 9

Gary Hicks (R)

District 10

Rick Eldridge (R)

District 11

Jeremy Faison (R)

District 12

Fred Atchley (R)

District 13

Robert Stevens (R)

District 14

Jason Zachary (R)

District 15

Sam McKenzie (D)

District 16

Michele Carringer (R)

District 17

Andrew Farmer (R)

District 18

Elaine Davis (R)

District 19

Dave Wright (R)

District 20

Tom Stinnett (R)

District 21

Lowell Russell (R)

District 22

Dan Howell (R)

District 23

Mark Cochran (R)

District 24

Kevin Raper (R)

District 25

Cameron Sexton (R)

District 26

Greg Martin (R)

District 27

Michele Reneau (R)

District 28

Yusuf Hakeem (D)

District 29

Greg Vital (R)

District 30

Esther Helton (R)

District 31

Ron Travis (R)

District 32

Monty Fritts (R)

District 33

Richard Scarbrough (R)

District 34

Tim Rudd (R)

District 35

William Slater (R)

District 36

Dennis Powers (R)

District 37

Charlie Baum (R)

District 38

Kelly Keisling (R)

District 39

Iris Rudder (R)

District 40

Michael Hale (R)

District 41

Ed Butler (R)

District 42

Ryan Williams (R)

District 43

Paul Sherrell (R)

District 44

William Lamberth (R)

District 45

Johnny Garrett (R)

District 46

Clark Boyd (R)

District 47

Rush Bricken (R)

District 48

Bryan Terry (R)

District 49

Mike Sparks (R)

District 50

Bo Mitchell (D)

District 51

Aftyn Behn (D)

District 52

Justin Jones (D)

District 53

Jason Powell (D)

District 54

Vincent Dixie (D)

District 55

John Clemmons (D)

District 56

Bob Freeman (D)

District 57

Susan Lynn (R)

District 58

Harold Love (D)

District 59

Caleb Hemmer (D)

District 60

Shaundelle Brooks (D)

District 61

Gino Bulso (R)

District 62

Pat Marsh (R)

District 63

Jake McCalmon (R)

District 64

Scott Cepicky (R)

District 65

Lee Reeves (R)

District 66

Sabi Kumar (R)

District 67

Ronnie Glynn (D)

District 68

Aron Maberry (R)

District 69

Jody Barrett (R)

District 70

Clay Doggett (R)

District 71

Kip Capley (R)

District 72

Kirk Haston (R)

District 73

Chris Todd (R)

District 74

Jay Reedy (R)

District 75

Vacant

District 76

Tandy Darby (R)

District 77

Rusty Grills (R)

District 78

Mary Littleton (R)

District 79

Brock Martin (R)

District 80

Johnny Shaw (D)

District 81

Debra Moody (R)

District 82

Chris Hurt (R)

District 83

Mark White (R)

District 84

Joe Towns (D)

District 85

Jesse Chism (D)

District 86

Justin Pearson (D)

District 87

Karen Camper (D)

District 88

Larry Miller (D)

District 89

Justin Lafferty (R)

District 90

Gloria Johnson (D)

District 91

Torrey Harris (D)

District 92

Todd Warner (R)

District 93

G.A. Hardaway (D)

District 94

Ron Gant (R)

District 95

Kevin Vaughan (R)

District 96

Gabby Salinas (D)

District 97

John Gillespie (R)

District 98

Antonio Parkinson (D)

District 99

Tom Leatherwood (R)

Republican Party (74)

Democratic Party (24)

Vacancies (1)

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John Gillespie

Biography

Committee assignments

2023-2024

2021-2022

Sponsored legislation

Elections

2026

General election

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Endorsements

2024

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

2020

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 97

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

2024

2022

2020

Campaign finance summary

Scorecards

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

Services

Additional analysis

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