State Rep. Dennis Powers (R-Jacksboro) lost his bid for a ninth term in the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday, marking the most significant incumbent defeat in the state’s legislative primaries.
According to final unofficial results published by the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, Republican challenger Noah Smith defeated Powers in the House District 36 Republican primary, garnering 66.97 percent of the vote to unseat the eight-term incumbent.
Powers was first elected to represent House District 36 in 2010 and has served eight consecutive terms in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Smith (pictured above), a 26-year old Campbell County native, campaigned as an “America First conservative” and said he was seeking to bring “new, accountable representation” to Nashville. A commercial airline pilot, Smith is a graduate of Campbell County Comprehensive High School and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He pledged to focus on bringing jobs to the district, improving infrastructure, supporting rural schools, protecting conservative values, and advancing term limits for elected officials.
House District 36 includes Campbell and Union counties and part of Claiborne County.
In another closely watched legislative contest, Republican Kenny Cody (pictured here) won the open House District 11 primary, defeating challenger Jeff Fancher.
Unlike the District 36 race, the House District 11 contest did not result in an incumbent losing office. The seat became open after State Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) announced he would not seek reelection.
Cody entered the race after serving as chairman of the Cocke County Republican Party and received President Donald Trump’s endorsement in May.
Announcing his endorsement on Truth Social, Trump described Cody as a “MAGA Warrior” and said he would “fight tirelessly to Promote East Tennessee’s ‘Mountain Values,’ Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Advance MADE IN THE U.S.A., Champion American Energy DOMINANCE, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, Promote School Choice, Safeguard our Elections, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”
Following the endorsement, Cody called Trump’s backing “the honor of a lifetime” and pledged to continue supporting the president if elected to the General Assembly.
The Republican nominees will now advance to the November 3 general election.
In House District 11, Democratic candidate Sheila Grooms McMahan ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, receiving 100 percent of the vote, and will face Cody in the November general election.
In House District 36, Smith is unopposed in the general election as no Democratic candidate qualified to run for the seat.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Noah Smith” by Noah Smith.
