State Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) was in Jackson County on Tuesday, where he spoke to a crowd in Gainesboro about Nashville’s attempt to become a bona fide sanctuary city.
Matheny spoke of the overwhelming number of Republican House members who are opposing the measure and who will intensify the fight against the initiative should a third reading pass or the motion simply be tabled for a later date.
Matheny noted that the most up to date and reliable coverage of the sanctuary city issue has been provided by The Tennessee Star.
The residents attending the meeting expressed strong approval for efforts to stop the Nashville sanctuary city ordinance, and were particularly interested in the details of the plans to oppose it.
Matheny, as one of the leaders in the Tennessee General Assembly of the effort to stop the Nashville sanctuary city ordinance, provided details about the 63 members of the Tennessee House of Representatives who signed a letter, which was sent from his office, outlining their opposition to proposed ordinance, and asking members of the Metro Nashville City Council to vote against it.
First elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2002, Matheny is one of at least two conservatives who have expressed interest in running for Congress in Tennessee’s Sixth Congressional District in the event the incumbent, Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) opts to run for governor.
Jackson County is in the Sixth Congressional District.
“I’m 100 percent in the race for Tennessee’s 6th Congressional District,” Matheny told The Tennessee Star earlier this month:
“I’m not making a formal announcement until Diane Black announces for governor,” Matheny added.
Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), who currently represents the 6th Congressional District, is considered likely to enter the race for the Republican nomination for governor in 2018. Rumors abound as to when that might happen, but the consensus is that if she decides to run, she will need to make the announcement some time between July and September.
If Black chooses to run for re-election to Congress Matheny told The Star he will change his plans.
“If Diane Black does not run for governor, I will not run for the 6th Congressional district seat, and will instead for re-election to the Tennessee House of Representatives,” Matheny said.
Scottie Nell Hughes, a well known conservative journalist and former surrogate for the Trump campaign, has also expressed interest in running for Congress in the Sixth Congressional District.
Hughes told The Star earlier this month “there’s a strong possibility” she will run for the 6th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives currently held by Congressman Diane Black.
Hughes, a native Tennessean and graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, gained national prominence during the 2016 campaign as a surrogate for the Trump campaign and frequent CNN contributor.
“The domino first falls with Congressman Black,” Hughes told The Star.
“I’m proud to have her be the first female chair of the House Budget Committee,” Hughes added.
“I’m absolutely not going to make a decision until Congressman Black decides on whether she will run for governor. If she choose to run for governor, there’s a strong possibility I will run for the 6th Congressional District seat, and that’s only because of the people who’ve approached me and the support I’ve received from 6th District grassroots groups,” Hughes said.
Rumors abound in Washington, D.C. and throughout Tennessee as to when and whether Rep. Black will make an announcement about her future political plans.
