Ken Yager

Republican Party

Tennessee State Senate District 12

Tenure

2008 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

18

Compensation

Base salary

$33,060/year

Per diem

$379.44/day. Legislators living within 50 miles of the Capitol receive a reduced amount of $86 per day.

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

University of Tennessee, Martin, 1969

Law

University of Memphis, 1977

Graduate

University of Tennessee, Martin, 1972

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Ken Yager (Republican Party) is a member of theTennessee State Senate, representingDistrict 12. He assumed office in 2008. His current term ends on November 7, 2028.

Yager (Republican Party) ran for re-election to theTennessee State Senate to representDistrict 12. He won in the general election onNovember 5, 2024.

Biography

Yager received his B.A. and M.A. at the University of Tennessee at Martin. He later received his J.D. from the University of Memphis. He has worked as an assistant broker and an Assistant Professor of History and Law at Roane State Community College.

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Yager was assigned to the following committees:

• Commerce and Labor Committee
• Finance, Ways and Means Committee
• State & Local Government Committee
• Fiscal Review Committee

2021-2022

Yager was assigned to the following committees:

• Commerce and Labor Committee
• Finance, Ways and Means Committee
• State & Local Government Committee

2019-2020

Yager was assigned to the following committees:

• Fiscal Review Committee
• TACIR Committee
• Finance, Ways and Means Committee
• State & Local Government Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Yager served on the following committees:

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Yager served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Yager served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Yager served on these committees:

Noteworthy events

Tax relief exemption

Lt. Gov.Ron Ramsey and Sen. Yager co-sponsored a bill to raise the standard exemption on the Hall Tax in 2011. Gov.Bill Haslam included the measure in his 2011 budget plan.

The Hall Tax relief included in the budget applies to Tennesseans age 65 and older. Of the individuals who pay the Hall Tax, 48 percent are age 65 and older.

“We tell middle class folks to save and invest for their retirement and then we punish them for it by taxing their nest egg,” said Ramsey. “Working men and women of modest means who have saved wisely should not have to see their hard-earned dollars taxed. This exemption will aid middle class people who live modestly get a break on their hard earned savings.”

“I am delighted Governor Haslam has included Hall Tax relief for senior citizens in his supplemental budget plan,” said Senator Yager. “This was part of my platform when I ran for State Senate; therefore, I am very pleased that it was included in the Governor’s budget. This puts the bill in excellent shape moving into the final days of this legislative session and making this tax relief closer to reality for many senior citizens across Tennessee.”^[1]

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Tennessee State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Tennessee State Senate District 12

IncumbentKen Yager defeatedCharles Hutson II in the general election for Tennessee State Senate District 12 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ken Yager (R)	85.6	77,286
		Charles Hutson II (Independent)	14.4	12,954

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 90,240
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Curtis Kelly (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee State Senate District 12

Curtis Kelly advanced from the Democratic primary for Tennessee State Senate District 12 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Curtis Kelly	100.0	2,933

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,933
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee State Senate District 12

IncumbentKen Yager defeatedTeena Hedrick in the Republican primary for Tennessee State Senate District 12 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ken Yager	77.3	15,662
	Submit photo	Teena Hedrick	22.7	4,587

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,249
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

2020

See also: Tennessee State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Tennessee State Senate District 12

IncumbentKen Yager won election in the general election for Tennessee State Senate District 12 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ken Yager (R)	100.0	69,042

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 69,042
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee State Senate District 12

IncumbentKen Yager advanced from the Republican primary for Tennessee State Senate District 12 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ken Yager	100.0	20,408

---

	Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 20,408
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2016

See also:Tennessee State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for theTennessee State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 4, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 7, 2016.

IncumbentKen Yager ran unopposed in the Tennessee State Senate District 12 general election.^[2][3]

Tennessee State Senate, District 12 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Ken YagerIncumbent (unopposed)
Source:Tennessee Secretary of State

IncumbentKen Yager ran unopposed in the Tennessee State Senate District 12 Republican primary.^[4][5]

Tennessee State Senate, District 12 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	Ken YagerIncumbent (unopposed)

2012

See also:Tennessee State Senate elections, 2012

Yager ran in the2012 election for Tennessee State Senate District 12. Yager ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 2, 2012. He was unchallenged in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.^[6]

2008

On Nov. 4, 2008, Yager won election to the 12th District Seat in theTennessee State Senate, defeating opponents Becky Ruppe (D) and Christopher Fenner (I).^[7]

Yager raised $559,620 for his campaign while Ruppe raised $296,786 and Fenner raised $0.^[8]

Tennessee State Senate, District 12 (2008)
Candidates		Votes
Ken Yager (R)		32,509
Becky Ruppe (D)		27,983
Christopher Fenner		2,954

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ken Yager did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Ken Yager did not completeBallotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

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.

Noteworthy events

DUI arrest, plea agreement (2024-2025)

See also:Politicians convicted of DUI

On December 3, 2024, Lucas was arrested for driving under the influence in Georgia. Yager was transported to the Glynn County jail and was released after posting bond.^[9][10]

Yager was charged with DUI Less Safe Driver, hit and run, and failure to stop at a stop sign.^[11]

On August 11, 2025, Yager pleaded no contest to one count of driving under the influence. The remaining charges in the case were dismissed. As part of the plea agreement, Yager was required to attend DUI school and perform 40 hours of community service.^[12] Yager was sentenced to 12 months of probation, a fine of $750, and his driver's license was suspended.^[13]

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

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Personal

Note: Pleasecontact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Yager and his wife, Malinda, have two children. They currently live in Harriman, Tennessee.

See also

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External links

Footnotes

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