BREAKING: State Rep. Charles Sargent, Powerful Chairman of House Finance Committee, Will Not Seek Re-Election

Tennessee Star

State Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin), the powerful chairman of the House Finance Committee, announced on Thursday that he will not seek re-election. “It has been my honor and pleasure to serve the citizens of the 61st District for the last 21 years. I would not trade that experience but circumstances change,” Sargent told the Williamson Herald, which noted:   Due to recent circumstances, Sargent’s health has become his top priority. “I have dealt with skin cancer on and off for many years,” he said. “I have recently been diagnosed with a related condition that requires my attention. My health is the most important matter right now. I want to focus on my health, my wife Nancy, and our children and grandchildren.” However, Sargent stated that this is not the end of his community involvement. “I think I still have a lot to offer to Williamson County and the State of Tennessee, just not in the House of Representatives,” he said. “I am confident that different opportunities and challenges will present themselves.” Sargent’s announcement put the spotlight on conservative activist Rebecca Burke, a member of the Republican State Executive Committee, who is the only announced candidate for the Republican nomination in…

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Rebecca Burke Working to Plan Next Tennessee Star Constitution Bee

Rebecca Burke has a passion for the U.S. Constitution and wants to help young people understand why it is so important. With others, she is already helping to plan the second Tennessee Star Constitution Bee. The inaugural bee was held Saturday, with sixteen students competing. Sponsored by the Polk Foundation, the event took place at Sycamore High School in Cheatham County. Students prepared for the bee by studying the The Tennessee Star Guide to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for Secondary School Students. Organizers intend to hold the next Constitution Bee in Williamson County on Saturday, April 28th. “We’re still trying to secure a location,” Burke said. A well-known Middle Tennessee conservative activist and Tennessee Republican Party state executive committeewoman, Burke recently announced she is running for the state House of Representatives District 61 seat. The seat is currently occupied by Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin). Burke said a good understanding of the Constitution is important today because freedom of speech is under attack and students are growing up to believe they shouldn’t have to be exposed to ideas they find distasteful. Young people need to understand that all sides deserve a fair hearing, whether the ideas are coming from the left,…

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WTN’s Michael DelGiorno Endorses Rebecca Burke in GOP Primary Challenge to State Rep. Charles Sargent

WTN 99.7 talk radio host Michael DelGiorno made political news again on Friday when he endorsed Republican State Executive Committeewoman Rebecca Burke of Franklin for the Republican nomination in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 61 primary. Burke announced on Thursday that she is challenging 20 plus year incumbent State Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin), the powerful Chairman of the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee who voted for Governor Haslam’s gas tax increase in the 2017 session of the Tennessee General Assembly. “Please Tennessee, elect this amazing woman, proven conservative, eloquent, intelligent, servant leader to our State House!! It’s time this seat belongs to the people and NOT to one deal making politician! Hey Williamson County, stop talking about how strong you are and actually be it,” said DelGiorno in a statement released on Friday. It was the second major political endorsement of a conservative candidate in a Republican primary made by DelGiorno this past week. On Thursday, DelGiorno endorsed Andy Ogles for in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN). Burke, a long-time veteran of grassroots conservative activism and Republican politics, announced her challenge to Sargent last week. “Many think that…

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Conservative Activist Rebecca Burke Announces GOP Primary Challenge to State Rep. Charles Sargent

On Thursday conservative activist and Republican State Executive Committee member Rebecca Burke announced she is a candidate for the Republican nomination to represent the 61st District in the Tennessee House of Representatives, a seat that is currently held by State Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin). The district represents parts of Franklin and Brentwood in rapidly growing Williamson County. “I am starting early because there will be a lot of political noise for voters to digest leading into the governor’s race and U.S. Senate race, not to mention local races,” said Burke, a resident of Franklin, in a statement provided to The Tennessee Star that announced her candidacy. “Many think that we should be worried about the ‘Swamp’ in Washington D.C., but my sights are focused on the ‘Swamp’ in Tennessee,” she added. In June of this year, as The Star reported earlier, Burke spent several weeks working for Republican Congressional candidate Karen Handel, who won the hotly contested special election in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District over the heavily financed Democratic candidate, Jon Ossoff. “Burke, 62, has spent over 35 years as an aggressive and outspoken conservative activist. She has been known to out-work opponents as a campaigner and strategist and to…

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