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Tennessee Senate election: Voucher sponsor falls and other results

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Tennessee Senate election: Voucher sponsor falls and other results


It was a big night in Tennessee state Senate races for state-funded school vouchers, as two anti-voucher lawmakers were defeated in Republican primaries. But in what could become a critical loss, incumbent Senate Education Chairman Jon Lundberg ― who sponsored Gov. Bill Lee’s voucher legislation this year ― was defeated by Donald Trump-endorsed anti-voucher candidate Bobby Harshbarger.

As the primaries unfolded, several races for Tennessee state Senate became referendums on the issue of state-funded private school vouchers, with out-of-state groups pouring millions into key state legislative races.

Longtime incumbent Frank Niceley was ousted following an aggressive ad blitz from pro-voucher PAC School Freedom Fund, which attacked Niceley as “liberal with our money.” The same PAC bought ads attacking Rep. Bryan Richey, who sought an open seat vacated by retiring Sen. Art Swann. Pro-voucher candidate Tom Hatcher won that primary.

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But despite nearly $200,000 spent by outside groups to support Lundberg in his hotly contested race against Harshbarger, a pharmacist from Kingsport who is son of U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, a Trump endorsement, and support from a PAC that shares a treasurer with his mother’s congressional campaign, pushed Harshbarger to the finish line. He opposes vouchers.

Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile successfully defended his seat in a challenge from the right from Chris Spencer, who accused Haile of being “anti-child.”

Here’s a look at the other competitive state Senate primaries in Thursday’s election.

Tennessee state Senate District 4

In one of the most closely watched state Senate races this year in District 4, incumbent Sen. Jon Lundberg fell behind Thursday evening and was defeated by challenger Bobby Harshbarger in the Republican primary. Harshbarger was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

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Lundberg was chair of the Senate Education Committee and had served in the legislature since 2006. He was the sponsor of Gov. Bill Lee’s statewide universal school voucher program this year and a vocal advocate for school choice policies.

Harshbarger is the son of U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Kingsport, and a pharmacist and small business owner from Sullivan County. Harshbarger earned the endorsement of former President Donald Trump shortly before an assassination attempt last month. Harshbarger is the subject of a complaint with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance alleging coordination with political action committee East Tennessee Conservatives PAC, which sent text messages attacking Lundberg. The PAC shares a treasurer with Congresswoman Harshbarger’s campaign.

The district includes Hawkins and Sullivan counties in upper East Tennessee.

Tennessee state Senate District 18

Tennessee Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, fended off a primary challenge from the right in Republican Chris Spencer, who racked up endorsements as a “true constitutional conservative Republican.” Haile comfortably defeated Spencer on Thursday.

Haile raised a hefty war chest to fund his re-election bid and defend against Spencer, who earned endorsements from singer-songwriter John Rich, women’s sports activist Riley Gaines and Nashville auto magnate Lee Beaman. Spencer pledged to support anti-abortion legislation, work with the Tennessee Firearms Association on gun policies, vet school curriculums for “leftist propaganda and inappropriate sexualization of our children,” and support funding for better teacher and support staff pay.

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Facing Spencer’s accusations of being “anti-child,” Haile pointed to his record sponsoring legislation to establish Tennessee’s Safe Baby Courts, which seek to smooth transitions for adoptive families, and supporting legislation to ban medical and surgical gender transition for minors, and to prohibit transgender children from participating in sports that do not align with their gender assigned at birth. Haile supports expanding access to publicly funded private school vouchers.

Haile will face Democrat Walter Chandler, of Hendersonville, in November. Chandler is an aerospace engineer with experience at Belcan and Boeing. His legislative priorities include expanding Medicaid, gun reform, expanding pre-K and opposing private school vouchers.

The district includes Sumner and Trousdale counties.

Tennessee state Senate District 2

In a race that became a referendum on state-funded school vouchers, pro-voucher candidate Tom Hatcher won the open Republican primary for state Senate District 2, defeating state Rep. Bryan Richey and businessman John Pullias.

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Richey, a Navy veteran who has served in the Tennessee House of Representatives, succumbed to an onslaught of hundreds of thousands of dollars in opposing ads bought by the School Freedom Fund, which criticized him as a “soft on crime liberal.” The PAC is affiliated with the Club for Growth and poured $3.6 million into five Tennessee legislative races attacking candidates who oppose publicly funded school voucher programs.

Hatcher is a Blount County native who served as Blount County Circuit Court Clerk for 30 years. He was also previously a Blount County Sheriff’s Deputy. He now faces Democrat Patti Young, a retired Maryville City Schools teacher who operates a small equestrian facility and summer camp in Blount County.

The district includes Blount, Monroe, Polk and part of Bradley counties in East Tennessee. The seat is open following the retirement of state Sen. Art Swann, R-Maryville.

Tennessee state Senate District 6

Incumbent Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, R-Knoxville, defeated a challenge from the right by Monica Irvine in the Republican primary for Senate District 6.

Massey, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, will now face Democrat Dominica Bryan in the November general election. Massey cosponsored Lee’s school voucher proposal this year. Bryan is a longtime investigator with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

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The district includes part of Knox County.

Tennessee state Senate District 8

In another race that turned into a referendum on state-funded school vouchers, longtime incumbent Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, was ousted in an expensive race for state Senate District 8 by Republican challenger Jessie Seal.

Niceley is a farmer and businessman who has represented the district since 2012 and previously served six terms in the state House of Representatives. Niceley was another target in the School Freedom Fund’s negative ad blitz, attacked for opposing publicly funded school voucher programs.

Seal, of Claiborne County, is a public relations director for a medical facility and an officer in the Claiborne County Republican Party.

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Seal now faces Democrat R.E. Ellison in the November election. Ellison, a retired computer science professional, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

The district includes Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Jefferson, Sevier and Union counties in East Tennessee.

Tennessee state Senate District 10

Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, handily fended off a primary challenge from former Red Bank city commissioner Ed LeCompte. Gardenhire has represented the district since 2013 and is currently chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Gardenhire will now face Democrat Missy Crutchfield of Chattanooga in the November election. Crutchfield, an activist and co-editor of Be Magazine, unsuccessfully ran for Hamilton County School Board earlier this year. She is the daughter of Ward Crutchfield, who previously held Gardenhire’s seat.

The district includes includes Bledsoe, Hamilton, Marion and Sequatchie counties in Southeast Tennessee.

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Tennessee state Senate District 12

Incumbent Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, won the Republican primary in Senate District 12, defeating Teena Hedrick, a retired nurse practitioner from Roane County. Yager is chair of the Senate Republican Caucus and has represented the district since 2006. Yager was a teacher in Harriman City Schools and later served as county attorney and county executive.

Yager now faces Democrat Curtis Kelly of Clarkrange in the November election. Kelly, a student at Roane State Community College, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

The district includes includes Campbell, Clay, Fentress, Macon, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, Roane and Scott counties.

Tennessee state Senate District 24

Incumbent Sen. John D. Stevens, R-Huntingdon, won the Republican primary in Senate District 24, defeating Charlies “Charlie” Cooper, an Army veteran who is the budget administrator and public relations director for Benton County government.

Stevens is a lawyer from Huntingdon who has represented District 24 since 2012.

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The district includes Benton, Carrol, Gibson, Henry, Houston, Obion, Stewart and Weakley counties in Middle and West Tennessee.

Tennessee state Senate District 30

Incumbent Sen. Sara P. Kyle, D-Memphis, won the Democratic primary in Senate District 30, defeating Erika Stotts Pearson of Memphis. Kyle is an attorney who has been in the Tennessee Senate since 2015. She previously served as director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.

The district includes part of Shelby County.



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Tennessee

Childhelp delivers Thanksgiving food baskets to 200 families in East Tennessee

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Childhelp delivers Thanksgiving food baskets to 200 families in East Tennessee


KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Childhelp Tennessee spent Sunday afternoon delivering Thanksgiving food baskets to 200 families across Knoxville and East Tennessee as a part of the annual Thanksgiving Basket Brigade.

Chad Schollaert, a Childhelp board member, said the boxes primarily went to foster families, where there’s a greater need for donations.

“Foster children, a lot of times they’re not coming from a stable environment. So, having a Thanksgiving meal with a family is extremely important and so is just being able to show stability and family atmosphere,” Schollaert said.

Schollaert said an effort like this takes months of planning and coordinating both meals and volunteers ahead of the big day.

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“It’s been an effort for the last several months getting coordinating volunteers to deliver the meals, getting the meals. I know the staff here at Childhelp have been talking to board members and recruiting others to deliver the boxes,” Schollaert said.

Schollaert added that Childhelp is always looking for more volunteers because the more volunteers they have, the more children get help. He also said there are several other events and fundraising opportunities throughout the year. Click here for more information.



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Could the Tennessee Volunteers Host a First Round College Football Playoff Game?

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Could the Tennessee Volunteers Host a First Round College Football Playoff Game?


Could the Tennessee Volunteers end up hosting a first round college football playoff game?

After the loss to Georgia, it looked like Tennessee was going to need some help to get their way back into the playoff, and they got more than enough help on Saturday. Alabama lost to Oklahoma, Ole Miss lost to Florida and Indiana lost to Ohio State. Three teams that were ranked ahead of Tennessee opened up a playoff spot for them this week.

Not only did it get the Volunteers back into the playoffs, it might have put them in a position to host a first round playoff game. A few things would need to happen and a lot of it will depend on what happens during conference championship week, but it’s certainly a possibility.

The five-seed, the six-seed, the seven-seed and the eight-seed all get to host for the first round. As of right now, it looks like Notre Dame is going to take one of those slots. The winner of Texas A&M vs Texas plays Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and the loser of that might take one of those spots as well. An Oregon vs Ohio State rematch is looking likely for the Big 10 Conference Championship and you would have to imagine that the loser of that game would take a host spot as well. So as of right now, it’s looking like there might only be one host spot up for grabs in the playoffs and Tennessee very well could be the team to snag it as an eighth seed.

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More clarity will be provided about this when the rankings are released this Tuesday but the Volunteers had a very successful weekend of college football, needless to say.

Make sure to follow our website Tennessee on SI.



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ESPN moves Tennessee back into College Football Playoff, gives Vols return trip to Georgia

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ESPN moves Tennessee back into College Football Playoff, gives Vols return trip to Georgia


Losses on Saturday by Indiana, Alabama and Ole Miss moved Tennessee up to No. 8 in ESPN’s new projected College Football Playoff rankings. The projection had the Vols as the No. 9 seed in the 12-team bracket, making a return trip to No. 8 Georgia in the first round of the playoffs.

The other first-round matchups were No. 12 Arizona State at No. 5 Ohio State, No. 11 Indiana at No. 6 Penn State and No. 10 SMU at No. 7 Notre Dame. Oregon was ranked No. 1 and seeded first by ESPN’s Heather Dinich

“As long as Tennessee doesn’t lose at Vanderbilt on Saturday — and that’s hardly a guarantee — the Vols should be in the committee’s top 12 on Selection Day,” Dinich wrote, “now that Ole Miss played itself out.”

ESPN keeps Alabama at No. 12 in playoff rankings despite third loss

The College Football Playoff selection committee will release its new rankings and bracket projection Tuesday night. The official bracket will be announced on December 8.

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ESPN on Saturday night had Ohio State ranked No. 2 and seeded fifth. Texas was ranked No. 3 and seeded second as the presumed SEC champion. Miami was ranked No. 6 and seeded third as the projected ACC champ and Boise State was ranked No. 10 and seeded fourth as the projected Mountain West champs.

Alabama stayed in the top 12 at No. 12 in the ESPN rankings, but was bumped out of the bracket by Arizona State, which was ranked No. 17 but would be in the field as the projected Big 12 champion. 

“Alabama needs help even if it is still in the top 12 on Tuesday night,” Dinich wrote, “because the Tide would be bumped out for the Big 12 champion in this scenario. Alabama needs to beat rival Auburn and hope there is more fallout above them.”

ESPN dropped Indiana to No. 11 in its rankings. Just outside the top 12 was No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 15 Texas A&M and No. 16 Clemson. BYU dropped to No. 18 after its loss at Arizona State and Colorado dropped to No. 20 after its loss at Kansas. 

Tennessee at Vanderbilt, Saturday, Noon ET, ABC

Tennessee (8-2, 5-2 SEC) beat UTEP 56-0 on Senior Day at Neyland Stadium Saturday afternoon and now goes to Vanderbilt (6-5, 3-4) this week in the regular-season finale. 

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Indiana lost 38-15 at Ohio State, Ole Miss lost 24-17 at Florida and Alabama lost 24-3 at Oklahoma. Texas A&M also lost at Auburn for its second SEC loss.

The Tennessee-Georgia winner in the ESPN projection would advance to face No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

Georgia can play its way out of the first round by winning the SEC Championship game. Georgia has clinched a spot in Atlanta and will face the winner of Saturday’s game between Texas and Texas A&M.

“The Vols got some help on Saturday,” Dinich wrote. “With Ole Miss and Indiana both losing, Tennessee should move up by default — not because it hammered UTEP 56-0. 

“The head-to-head loss to Georgia will keep them behind the Bulldogs, which makes putting them ahead of Alabama difficult for the committee in spite of the win against the Tide.”

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