'Tennessee Three' Members Justin Pearson and Justin Jones Return Triumphant To Tennessee State House
Both won their special elections and will retain their seats.
Justin Pearson and Justin Jones, the two expelled members of the Tennessee Three, have both won their special elections and will be returning to the state House floor post haste.
Pearson and Jones, along with Nashville Rep. Gloria Johnson, made history when they joined in a pro-gun-control protest on the House floor, in response to the mass shooting that took place at a parochial day school in Nashville this March. For this brave action, which threatened the delicate sensibilities of House Republicans, they were all put up for expulsion, though only Pearson and Jones ended up being kicked out.
While Pearson and Jones were later reinstated on an interim basis (quickly reappointed to their own seats by local authorities), special elections were held in their districts to give voters a chance to replace them both, perhaps with some candidates who don’t think a mass shooting killing three nine-year-olds and three adults is any reason to start regulating who can and cannot own what kind of gun.
![Justin Jones Already Back In TN House. Your Turn, Memphis! Send Justin Pearson Back And Be Legends!](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4c095957-b536-439b-b8dc-8bd827b6ef32_600x400.png)
Justin Jones Already Back In TN House. Your Turn, Memphis! Send Justin Pearson Back And Be Legends!
That … very much did not happen.
Via National Review:
The expulsions drew national support for the newly dubbed "Tennessee Three," especially for Pearson and Jones' campaign fundraising. The two raised more than $2 million combined through about 70,400 campaign donations from across the country. The amount is well beyond the norm for Tennessee's Republican legislative leaders and virtually unheard of for two freshman Democrats in a superminority.
Meanwhile, more than 15 Republican lawmakers had funneled cash to fund campaign efforts of Jones' Republican opponent, [Laura] Nelson. Nelson has raised more than $34,000 for the race. Pearson's opponent, [Jeff] Johnston, raised less than $400 for the contest.
Looks like Justin Jones didn’t have to wait for “someday” to overcome, after all.
Of course, Republicans in Tennessee have a supermajority, so the elections won’t affect much (outside of being super awkward and probably real disappointing for the House members who voted to expel them), but the right-wing hysteria over Pearson and Jones’s relatively innocuous actions on the floor has likely assured them some pretty bright political futures.
Not much news out of Tennessee has raised a smile on me, for a long time now. But this does!
And what of that third member, Gloria Johnson? She's taking on Marsha Blackburn! https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/21/tennessee-three-marsha-blackburn-senate-challenge-00107646