Tennessee GOP Chairman Scott Golden Explains Delegate Process

People Voting

With early voting underway for the March 5 Presidential Preference Primary and County Primary Elections, Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden explained how voters elect delegates in the Volunteer State.

In addition to the presidential and county candidates, two types of delegates are elected by Republican voters on the primary ballot – at-large delegates, which represent the entire state and appear on the ballot in every county, and delegates that represent each congressional district.

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Tennessee GOP Chairman Scott Golden Assesses 7th Congressional District Race amid U.S. Rep. Mark Green’s Retirement

Scott Golden

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said he was surprised when Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced his retirement from Congress.

Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, announced his retirement on Wednesday, just one day after leading the House in a historic vote to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

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Blount County State Executive Committee-Elect Mark Pulliam Describes Efforts Made by the Tennessee GOP to Keep Him Out

Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Misrule of Law blog creator and California refugee Mark Pulliam to the newsmaker line to discuss his win of State Executive Committee seat in Blount County and the efforts made by the Tennessee Republican Party to take him off after the election had been certified.

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TN-2 State Executive Committee Candidate Mark Pulliam Predicts Write-In Win, Calls for More Effective Grassroots Organization

Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Misrule of Law blog creator and California refugee, Mark Pulliam to the newsmaker line to discuss his write-in candidacy for TN-02 State Executive Committee position and the need for a more effective grassroots organization to farm conservative teams for public office.

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45th Annual Statesmen’s Dinner Set to Feature Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden spoke with The Tennessee Star recently about the biggest event of the year: the 45th Annual Statesmen’s Dinner.

“This year is the 45th Annual Statesmen’s Dinner. It’s going to be taking place on July 30 at the Music City Center in downtown Nashville. The reception starts at 5 o’clock. Generally, it has one of the biggest crowds of any political dinner outside of Washington, D.C. in the country,” he said.

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Chairman Scott Golden: Tennessee Republican Party Actions ‘Completely Vindicated’ by Unanimous Tennessee Supreme Court Ruling

In a statement provided to The Tennessee Star Friday, Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) Chair Scott Golden reacted to the unanimous decision by the Tennessee Supreme Court that “completely vindicated” the party’s actions in determining that Robby Starbuck, a disqualified Tennessee 5th Congressional District candidate, was not a bona fide Republican because he did not meet the requirements as outline in the bylaws.

Golden said, “We very much appreciate the unanimous decision of the Tennessee Supreme Court today. The ruling completely vindicated the actions of the Tennessee Republican Party and affirmed our authority to ensure that only Bona Fide Republicans are allowed to be Republican candidates for office.”

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Tennessee Supreme Court Unanimously Rules Against Robby Starbuck, Political Parties Not Subject to Open Meetings Act

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Tennessee Republican Party, vacating the injunction ordering Robby Starbuck on the August Republican Primary ballot and ruled that the TRP is not subject to the Tennessee Open Meetings Act.

The Court stated that Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins erred in his decision.

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Starbuck Argues Tennessee Supreme Court Lacks Jurisdiction over State Petition Asking Court to Vacate Injunction

Robby Starbuck’s legal team filed the required response on Thursday morning with the State Supreme Court to the state of Tennessee’s petition filing which seeks to have Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Perkins’ order adding him to the ballot overturned.

Starbuck had until 10am to file the response, per the order of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

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Tennessee Supreme Court Assumes Jurisdiction of Republican Party Appeal of Ruling Placing Starbuck on the TN-5 GOP Primary Ballot

The Tennessee Supreme Court has assumed jurisdiction of the Tennessee Republican Party’s appeal of Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins’ ruling ordering disqualified TN-5 candidate Robby Starbuck on the August 4 Republican primary ballot.

The Court assumed jurisdiction over the objections of Starbuck’s legal team, who argued in a brief that their involvement was not warranted. Clearly, the Court disagreed.

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Democrat Judge Favors Carpetbagger Starbuck, Denies Carpetbagger Ortagus’ Request to Be Placed on TN-5 Ballot

Elected Democrat Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins, who ordered Robby Starbuck to be placed on the TN-5 Republican primary ballot, denied disqualified candidate and fellow carpetbagger Morgan Ortagus’ motion to be enjoined to his order and be placed on the ballot.

According to court documents, Ortagus filed a motion to be enjoined to Starbuck’s ruling on Tuesday. Her request was promptly denied by Judge Perkins on the same day.

Perkins cited two reasons for his denial. “First, the motion is not accompanied by a ‘verified complaint, affidavit, or other evidence that the movant’s [Ortagus’] rights are being or will be violated,'” he wrote.

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Tennessee Coalition for Open Government’s Deborah Fisher on the Likelihood of Robby Starbuck’s Inclusion on TN-5 GOP Ballot

Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee Coalition for Open Government’s Executive Director Deborah Fisher, to the newsmaker line to comment upon the recent ruling by Judge Russell Perkins to the Tennessee Republican Party to reinstate Robby Starbuck as a GOP candidate for Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District.

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Tennessee Republican Party Files Appeal, Starbuck Ordered to Respond by 4 P.M. Tuesday

The Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) filed their appeal on Monday morning with the Court of Appeals of Tennessee at Nashville of the ruling made by Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins ordering disqualified TN-5 candidate Robby Starbuck on the August 4 primary ballot.

The Court of Appeals ordered Starbuck to respond to the TRP’s filings by 4pm on Tuesday.

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Tennessee Republican Party Immediately Appealing Liberal Democrat Activist Judge’s Decision Reinstating Disqualified TN-5 Candidate

Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) Chairman Scott Golden exclusively told The Tennessee Star on Saturday morning, that the TRP will be filing an appeal of Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins’ ruling ordering Robby Starbuck on the ballot on Monday.

“We’re disappointed with the judge’s ruling, obviously, and we’ll be filing an appeal on Monday,” said Golden.

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Judge Says He’ll Issue Ruling Friday Regarding Disqualified TN-5 Candidate’s Motion to Get on Ballot

Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins said at the conclusion of a hearing on Thursday that he will issue a ruling Friday on disqualified Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District candidate Robby Starbuck’s motion for injunction.

Starbuck’s legal team hopes that the judge will grant the injunction and put Starbuck on the ballot.

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Tennessee Republican Party Reports Record Number of GOP Candidates Running for Office

Tennessee Republican Party Chair Scott Golden, in a statement exclusively provided to The Tennessee Star, reports that 2022 saw a record number of GOP candidates qualifying to run for office in the state. 

“Red Wave ’22 is sweeping across the Nation and there are more Republicans than ever before running in Tennessee. We have more candidates for more offices in more counties than we have ever had in the history of Tennessee,” said Golden.

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Federal Judge Smacks Down Starbuck’s Request for Injunction to Be Placed Back on TN-5 Ballot

“On the basis of the foregoing, Starbuck’s Amended Motion for a Preliminary Injunction will be denied,” wrote District Court of the Middle District of Tennessee Chief Judge Waverly Crenshaw Judge Crenshaw as he denied Robby Starbuck’s request for an injunction which would have put him back on the ballot.

Judge Crenshaw appeared to telegraph this decision during oral arguments and the decisions points to the judge’s stated desire that the issue should be settled in state court.

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Federal Judge Takes Arguments Under Advisement, Appears Extremely Skeptical of Robby Starbuck’s Case to Get Back on TN-5 Ballot

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – District Court of the Middle District of Tennessee Chief Judge Waverly Crenshaw appeared to take an extremely skeptical view of the case presented by Robby Starbuck’s legal team during a Tuesday hearing on a preliminary injunction request.

In its motion, Starbuck’s legal team asked Judge Crenshaw to void the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP)’s decision to disqualify him from Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District Republican primary and to order the Tennessee Department of State to put him on the ballot.

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Hearing Scheduled for May 10 in TN-5 Disqualified Candidate’s ‘Hail Mary’ Lawsuit Against Tennessee Republican Party

A hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee regarding a motion made in disqualified TN-5 GOP Congressional candidate Robby Starbuck’s lawsuit against Chairman Scott Golden, the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP), and the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office.

The presiding judge is Chief District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, an Obama appointee.

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Candidates Must Have ‘Bona Fide Republican’ Status to Qualify for Tennessee GOP Ballot

Tennessee State Capitol at night in winter

Election season is heating up in Tennessee. The midterm congressional elections occur this year and the release of the proposed new maps has led to even more discussion about potential candidates and district races in Tennessee.

In addition to satisfying the federal and state requirements to run for public office, candidates seeking the Republican nomination in Tennessee must satisfy the Tennessee GOP’s governing criteria in order to qualify for the nomination contest.

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Middle Tennessee Post Offices Hit By ‘Incredibly Rare’ Burglaries One Day Before Election

One or more people broke in and vandalized six post offices in Middle Tennessee either Sunday night or early Monday morning, one day before an election where some people voted using absentee ballots.

Nathaniel Sims, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspector in Brentwood, told The Tennessee Star in an email Thursday that people don’t generally break into postal facilities.

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Tennessee GOP Votes to Affirm Eddie Mannis as House District 18 Primary Winner Potentially in Violation of State Law

The Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee (SEC) in a meeting held via conference call Wednesday evening voted to affirm the August 6 results of the House District 18 primary that was won by Eddie Mannis, potentially in violation of state law.

The vote was 43 to 18 by the SEC, which functions as the State Primary Board (SPB) in a primary contest.

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State GOP to Take Up House District 18 Primary Challenge Wednesday, Votes to Charge Candidates a Fee to Run as a Republican

At Saturday’s meeting of the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) State Executive Committee, the majority voted to charge candidates for certain offices a fee to run as a Republican and won’t take up the issue of the House District 18 primary challenge until Wednesday.

TRP Chairman Scott Golden told The Tennessee Star he wasn’t sure why some people thought that the challenge to the House District 18 primary results would be taken up at Saturday’s meeting and said it wasn’t “because it’s against the law.”

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Tennessee GOP Officials Receive Detailed Death Threats

One or more anonymous people, apparently out of Knoxville, allegedly and recently mailed death threats to members of the Tennessee Republican Party’s State Executive Committee — at each of their home addresses.

Tennessee GOP spokeswoman Delaney Dickey told The Tennessee Star in an email Monday that party officials have encouraged members to contact their local enforcement agencies.

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Democrat Crossover Voting Prompts Contest to Tennessee Republican Party Over House District 18 Primary Results

One of the candidates from the House District 18 Republican primary has notified Chairman Scott Golden and State Executive Committee (SEC) of the Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) that they are contesting the results, because of crossover voting from Democrats.

A member of the SEC, who wished to remain unnamed until it was discussed with the chairman, provided The Tennessee Star with a copy of the emailed letter from House District 18 Republican primary candidate Gina Oster dated August 18.

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Tennessee GOP Chair Allows Democratic Presidential Primary Voter to Run as a Republican

At the Saturday meeting of the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee, Chairman Scott Golden responded to the challenge of a candidate who donated to Democrats and voted as a Democrat in the last statewide primary by deciding the candidate is a bona fide Republican.

Golden’s decision overruled the vote of the members of the State Executive Committee (SEC) who were on the meeting conference call.

The candidate being challenged is Cecil “Eddie” Mannis, who is running for Tennessee House District 18. The seat is being vacated by State Representative Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville), who announced in March that he would not seek re-election to a fourth term, The Tennessee Star reported.

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Bill Ketron’s Daughter Kelsey Resigns from Tennessee Republican Party Executive Committee

  Kelsey Ketron, daughter of Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron, reportedly resigned as a member of the Tennessee Republican Party Executive Committee Tuesday. This, according to the Murfreesboro-based DJN.com, which also reported Kelsey Ketron was in her second term representing District 13 on the committee. “Her resignation letter was confirmed by Michael Sullivan, executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party. The letter was short, with Ketron saying it was an honor to serve the Republican party for the past five years, and that’s she is resigning from her position on the state executive committee,” DNJ.com reported. “Ketron didn’t give a reason for resigning, Sullivan said. The state GOP declined to release Ketron’s resignation letter, citing a policy of not releasing internal party documents.” As reported this month, Kelsey Ketron was reportedly accused of fraudulent practices at her Murfreesboro-based insurance company. Kelsey Ketron serves as vice president of Universal International Insurance agency. Bill Ketron owns the agency and is its president. According to NewsChannel 5, clients allegedly paid Kelsey Ketron for insurance policies, but they never got the coverage for which they paid. This week DNJ.com quoted Bill Ketron, who said Kelsey Ketron has taken a leave of absence from running the insurance…

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Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Reacts to House Caucus Vote of No Confidence, Tells Speaker Casada It Is Time to Step Down

  Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden issued a statement following the conclusion of the House Republican Caucus meeting discussing Glen Casada (R-Franklin) as Speaker of the State House of Representatives, saying it is time for him to step down. Within about thirty minutes of the end of the House GOP Caucus meeting, the statement was issued for immediate release under the Tennessee Republican Party letterhead. Golden has served as the Chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party since 2016, and re-elected to the position in December 2018. Thus far, Golden has not publicly addressed the racist and sexist text messages from three years ago or other allegations surrounding Speaker Casada over the past several weeks. The statement focused on the vote which, as reported by The Tennessee Star, resulted in a 45-24 vote of no confidence in Casada as Speaker of the House of Representatives. In the statement, Golden called the events and actions surrounding Speaker Casada “a distraction from the great accomplishments of this Legislature and Governor Bill Lee.” The Republican Party maintains a supermajority in the Tennessee General Assembly with 73 of 99 House members and 28 of the 33 Senators as well as a Republican Governor. “Our…

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Sen. Young Will Serve as Keynote Speaker of Tennessee Republican Party’s Statesmen’s Dinner on June 15

U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Tennessee Republican Party’s Statesmen’s Dinner. The dinner will be held Saturday, June 15 at Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville. The dinner chairman is attorney and businessman Andy Puzder. Young is chairman of the NRSC (National Republican Senatorial Committee), which bills itself as “the only national organization solely devoted to strengthening the Republican Senate Majority and electing Republicans to the United States Senate.” Young, in a press release from the Tennessee Republican Party, said, “I’m looking forward to joining Tennessee Republicans at the 2019 Statesmen’s Dinner. As Democrats continue to push a radical, far-left agenda, it’s critical that we elect candidates who will safeguard our cherished freedoms and support the policies that have our economy booming. As Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, I’m looking forward to working with Tennesseans to strengthen our Republican Senate majority and protect our conservative values.” Young serves on the U.S. Senate Committees on Finance; Foreign Relations; Commerce, Science & Transportation; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship, according to his biography. He is a graduate of Annapolis and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. His private sector experience includes a former stint at…

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Tennessee Republican Party Issues Statewide Call For Support of Governor Lee’s Education Savings Account

As Governor Bill Lee’s legislation on Education Savings Accounts is set to be voted on by the full House Education Committee on Wednesday, March 27, the Tennessee Republican Party calls for support of his education plan. The Tennessee Republican Party (TRP) sent a personalized email Friday saying, “We need your help!” “Governor Lee and Tennessee’s students are counting on us!” The TRP said that Governor Lee “has put forward a bold, conservative plan to ensure that every child in Tennessee has access to a high-quality education.” To help the Governor’s agenda and show support for school choice, the email includes a link to send an automatic email to the respondent’s legislator. The link connects to page with a heading “Show your support for Education Savings Accounts,” and a quote from Governor Bill Lee, “We’re not going to get big results in our struggling schools by nibbling around the edges. That is why we need Education Savings Accounts in Tennessee, this year.” The page goes on to explain ESAs: Education savings account programs (ESAs) give parents greater opportunity to use their state education dollars to find the best learning environment for their children ESAs can be used for school tuition and…

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Bill Hobbs (1964 – 2019)

Tributes have been pouring in following the death of Bill Hobbs, former communications director for the Tennessee Republican Party, who lost his fight with cancer on Saturday. Hobbs was also a professional photographer. His website is here. He also was a former reporter and blogger. Jeff Hartline, executive director of the Tennessee Spotlight and vice chair of the Wilson County GOP, on Saturday paid tribute to Hobbs in his newsletter, from his unwavering conservative beliefs to his faith in Jesus. Hartline said, in part: In the process of raising three children, building a business and being engaged in the life of the Ashwood Church and its eventual move, I lost personal track of Bill. But I was aware that he had landed at the Tennessee GOP and, as Communications Director, was making Democrats in Tennessee run for cover with his groundbreaking and penetrating messaging. I suspect he was front and center when it came time to throw then Rep. Kent Williams out of the Republican Party when he colluded with House Democrats to elect him as speaker following the Republican takeover of the House after Ron Ramsey led the Republican takeover of the Senate. As many would recall, Republicans won…

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Tennessee House Republicans Introduce Series of Bills to Empower Patients, Reduce Healthcare Costs, Promote Free Market

State House Republicans on Thursday introduced a free-market plan that focuses on patients, nicknamed CARE, to transform healthcare in Tennessee, especially rural areas. The Tennessee House Republicans press release is available here. The legislative package is composed of 11 bills throughout the session, which the state GOP caucus said will “reshape healthcare in Tennessee through Consumerism, increasing Access, improving Rural health systems, and Empowering patients to ensure individuals and families to make all medical decisions, instead of insurance companies or the government.” The CARE Plan will generate price transparency and increased data on prices, Republicans said. A claims database will provide consumers with information to allow them to save money and improve the healthcare system’s performance. Other benefits include streamlining of billing, promotion of competition, better drug prices, use of telemedicine and more. The plan will help people even if they have pre-existing conditions, Republicans said. The move by Tennessee Republicans comes days after North Carolina’s state legislators introduced a bill to address healthcare costs, Forbes said. The publication said: Earlier this week Republican legislators who hold majorities in the North Carolina House and Senate introduced Senate Bill 86, the Small Business Healthcare Act, legislation introduced by Senators Dan Bishop…

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Tennessee Republican Party Supports President Trump’s Commitment to Border Security

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden has come out in support of President Trump’s visit to the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday. “The most important job a president has is to protect Americans, and today’s visit to the southern border by President Trump further illustrates his strong commitment to our nation’s safety,” Golden said in a statement. “While Democrats continue to play petty partisan games with our security, drug dealers, human traffickers and enemies of this country flaunt our sovereign border. The games have to end, and Democrats need to work with President Trump to make America a more secure nation. This is non-negotiable.” Trump visited the border in Texas Thursday, Fox News reported: During an afternoon briefing with border agents at a patrol station in McAllen, Trump highlighted the prevalence of guns and drugs along the border. The president spoke in front of a table of items border agents have seized, including a rifle, handguns, a plastic bag full of cash and black-taped bricks of heroin and meth. “If we had a barrier of any kind, a powerful barrier, whether it’s steel or concrete…We would stop it cold,” Trump said of human trafficking. The president posted a Twitter video of himself with…

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Tennessee Republican Party Re-Elects Scott Golden as Chairman

The Tennessee Republican Party re-elected Scott Golden Saturday as its chairman to a second two-year term. “I am deeply honored and grateful to have the opportunity to lead our state’s Republican Party once again, and I thank the members of our State Executive Committee for their continued trust,” said Golden in a statement. “Tennessee Republicans made history this past year and we continued to build on a foundation of success that put us in prime position to expand our supermajorities in the General Assembly and help re-elect the president in 2020.” “I would like to congratulate Jennifer Little, Shannon Haynes, Beth Scott Clayton Amos and Pat Allen on their elections to vice chair, treasurer, vice treasurer and secretary respectively.” said Golden. “These women have the skills and long history of dedication to our party that will be instrumental to our success during the 2020 cycle.” Golden chaired the Tennessee Republican Party through the 2018 general elections, a historic year for Republicans in the Volunteer State: Republican Marsha Blackburn was elected as the first woman to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Senate. Republican Bill Lee was elected as the first Republican to succeed a Republican governor in Tennessee. Republican supermajorities were…

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Tennessee Republican Party Also Asks Legislature to Increase Number of Signatures Required on Petitions to Run for Public Office

The Tennessee Republican Party’s State Executive Committee voted to approve several election-related resolutions urging the 111th General Assembly to update the state’s election laws. The party issued a statement about the resolutions over the weekend. The GOP Executive Committee met Saturday. Resolutions included: Required Signatures for Public Office: This resolution asks the 111th General Assembly to increase the number of signatures required to run for public office to be equal to the level of office being sought. Timing for Special Elections: This resolution asks the 111th General Assembly to create a requirement for a special election to be called in the case of a vacancy within forty-five (45) days of the general election. In other business, the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee re-elected Scott Golden to his second two-year term as party chairman. Also, the State Executive Committee passed a resolution urging the General Assembly to close the primaries to allow only registered party members. Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden released the following statement on the resolutions: These common-sense resolutions will help maintain the integrity of our elections and elect the best-qualified Republican candidates to federal, state, and local offices. We ask that the General Assembly consider and adopt the…

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Tennessee GOP Votes To Close Primaries

FRANKLIN, Tennessee – The State Executive Committee (SEC) of the Tennessee Republican Party voted overwhelmingly at its organizational meeting to require party registration in order to vote in a party’s primary election, more commonly known as closing the primaries. The SEC has a potential of 66 seats consisting of one committeeman and one committeewoman for each of Tennessee’s 33 Senate districts. In a roll call vote, there were 45 votes in favor of closing the primaries, 14 for the primaries to remain open and one abstention. Two SEC members were absent with no proxy present, and four seats are currently vacant. The resolution will be provided to the Tennessee General Assembly with the expectation of getting a bill passed by the Republican-controlled Senate and House to address voter registration during the upcoming legislative session which will begin in January, thereby putting an end to the perceived finger-pointing as to whether it is the SEC or legislature that must close the primaries. A press release issued shortly after the vote and meeting adjournment on Saturday titled “TNGOP Passes Election Resolutions,” stated that the Tennessee Republican Party’s State Executive Committee voted to approve a resolution that asks the 111th General Assembly “to…

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