NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Republican state Rep. Steve McManus of Memphis has lost his seat to Dwayne Thompson, a rare Democratic victory in an election that keeps the GOP firmly in charge of Tennessee’s legislature, with a 74-25 advantage in the House.
McManus, who served as chairman of the House Insurance and Banking Committee, lost by 373 votes. Thompson, a human resources administrator, is a member of the state Democratic Party’s executive committee.
Delays in vote counting in Shelby County caused the House District 96 race not to be called until well after midnight on Wednesday. While Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton lost to Republican Donald Trump by 25 percentage points around the state, she carried Shelby County by 28 points.
Republicans earlier in the night had won two seats previously held by Democrats, but McManus’ defeat cut the overall gain in the House back to one.
Republican Paul Sherrell defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. Kevin Dunlap by 7 percentage points in rural House District 43, covering all or parts of White, Grundy and Warren counties. And Republican Michael Curcio easily defeated Democrat Dustin Evans to win the District 69 seat vacated by the retirement of Democratic Rep. David Shepard of Dickson.