State Representative Gabby Salinas (D-Memphis) lost her primary campaign for reelection last week in a surprise defeat to Dr. Telisa Franklin, a Memphis entrepreneur, in a 10-point landslide.
According to unofficial election results tracked by the Tennessee Secretary of State, Franklin won the Democratic primary with about 55.2 percent of the vote, while Salinas trailed at 44.8 percent. A total of 8,318 voters cast a ballot in the Democratic primary contest.
Salinas (pictured above) was among the Tennessee Democrats listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed last year, that sought to block Governor Bill Lee from deploying the Tennessee National Guard with the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF).
Though a Davidson County chancellor initially sided with the plaintiffs, blocking the National Guard deployment with an injunction, in April the Tennessee Court of Appeals determined that Salinas and the other plaintiffs lacked standing to sue, and reversed the decision.
Just four weeks before the election, Salinas reminded voters in District 96 of the Tennessee State House of the litigation, when she called for the Shelby County Commission to launch its own lawsuit challenging the Tennessee National Guard’s role in the MSTF.
“And every day that the county commission does not look into this and explore their options that they have in front of them, that have been kind of set out by the Court of Appeals, they are not doing everything in their power for the people that they represent,” said Salinas on July 9, according to Action News 5.
“The attorney general is claiming victory when it wasn’t the merits of the case; it was standing,” said Salinas. She told the outlet, “Until there are clear goals, clear direction for the task force, there absolutely should be a pause. In terms of the National Guard, I don’t think that it should have been here in the first place.”
Salinas acknowledged her defeat in a post to social media on August 7.
“I want to acknowledge the results of last night’s election. The results are not what we had worked so hard towards. But it is part of the Democratic process. My opponent, Telisa Franklin, will be the next state representative in district 96,” wrote Salinas.
She added, “Until November I will continue to serve my constituents and the people of TN to the best of my ability, rest assured that my love for our district and the people of Memphis will never change—no titles needed.”
The district is overwhelmingly Democratic, and voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris by a margin of 47 percent in 2024. No Republican candidate qualified for the district.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
