As the presidential election looms, some local political observers worry statewide policy conversations may be forced into the background in the run-up to the Aug. 1 primary for Tennessee state lawmakers.
Three members of the Hamilton County legislative delegation are being challenged with national political influence felt in both donations and rhetoric, as some publications aligned with the movement for constitutional Republicans voice regular displeasure over the GOP incumbents.
The races pit Republican incumbents Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain, and Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R- Chattanooga, against challengers Michele Reneau and Ed LeCompte in their respective races. The challengers come with vocal backing. Both are supported by the Tennessee Conservative; the website regularly condemns both incumbents.
Brandon Lewis, founder of the Tennessee Conservative, has also consulted on Reneau’s campaign — as a friend, he said. Reneau has campaigned heavily on immigration and repeatedly attacked Hazlewood’s record on the issue.
In the Hamilton County races, Lewis has taken aim at two influential voices in the legislature. Hazlewood, chair of the finance, ways and means committee, and Gardenhire, chair of the Tennessee state Senate Judiciary Committee, have outearned their challengers, both benefiting from campaign funds collected before the most recent election.
Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, will also not get a free pass to another term. He faces Demetrus Coonrod, a Chattanooga City Council member who beat him in 2017 for the council seat she still holds.
Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / Tennessee State Rep. Patsy Hazlewood speaks Thursday during an event in Chattanooga.But it’s the Republican races that have had the highest temperature.
“Many of us are satisfied with being recognized as one of the most conservative states in the nation,” said Mark Harrison, chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party, in a phone interview. “We’ve got a strong legislative body, and I don’t understand the need for further right perspectives.”
Harrison added he supports all Republicans but believes there are important discussions to be had over messaging and coherence of ideology.
“There seems to be a group that thinks our government isn’t conservative enough at the federal level, and they’re applying pressure at the local level, and I don’t think our state politics are broken,” he said.
GARDENHIRE V. LECOMPTE
The race between Gardenhire and LeCompte, who did not respond to requests for comment, highlights division among state conservatives. Gardenhire, whose district covers part of Chattanooga and reaches all the way up to Pikeville, has been adamant in his refusal to acknowledge that so-called constitutional Republicans are even Republicans, though he does not specifically speak about his opponents.
“I’m just doing my promotion,” Gardenhire said in a phone interview. “We’ve got a lot of new people who’ve moved into Chattanooga. I’ve gone four elections without mentioning my opponents’ names, and I intend to do the same thing.”
Gardenhire has been the subject of regular attacks from the Tennessee Conservative, which has labeled him “RINO of the year,” using the acronym for “Republican in name only.”
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Staff photo by Olivia Ross / State Sen. Todd Gardenhire speaks in 2023 during an event in Chattanooga.“The Tennessee Conservative is not a Republican organization,” Gardenhire said. “It’s a far right group that has taken it upon themselves to stand for what they think conservatism is. This group can’t spell conservative much less come up with a principle on which they can base their beliefs. He’s (Lewis) a one-man band trying to make a name for himself.”
“He misrepresents a lot of votes in the legislature for his own financial interest,” Gardenhire added.
When reached by phone, Lewis said he doesn’t make money from the publication and is still “a few hundred thousand in the hole.”
LeCompte, a former Red Bank commissioner, released his platform to the press in April. In the email, he listed his platform as “God above all; strictly adhere to U.S./Tennessee constitutions; pro family and parental rights; stop the invasion — secure Tennessee’s border; pro legal immigration,” and other positions consistent with many state Republican and conservative platforms.
His Facebook page is filled with other talking points, including memes that promote age-appropriate libraries and another meme that reads: FEMALE IS A BIOLOGICAL REALITY NOT A FEELING NOT AN IDENTITY NOT YOUR COSTUMES.
Other posts encourage voters to look at Gardenhire’s voting record, imploring them that “we need a real conservative in Nashville.”
Gardenhire has campaigned as a traditional small government, budget conscious conservative who said he will vote no on bills if he doesn’t know how they will be paid for. But in recent months, he has become more of a target and drawn the dismay of some Nashville Republicans, for his role as the lone GOP “no” vote on Senate Bill 2576. The immigration bill, Gardenhire said, would have forced school resource officers with knowledge of undocumented children to detain them. The bill circumvented the judiciary committee, of which he is chair. Gardenhire said violation of the bill, because it did not go through the judiciary committee, cannot draw a penalty.
But not every issue is easy to explain on the campaign trail.
“In politics, if you can’t explain something in 30 seconds, you’ve lost the argument,” Gardenhire said.
The winner of the race will face Democrat Missy Crutchfield in the general election in November.
HAZLEWOOD V. RENEAU
Hazlewood has her own test Aug. 1 when she faces another constitutional Republican, Reneau.
The tone of Reneau’s Facebook messages resemble those of LeCompte’s, issuing posts that call her a true conservative and a host of constituent photos and other material showing her on the campaign trail with her daughter. Like LeCompte, she did not respond to requests for comment.
Reneau has gone after Hazlewood on immigration, attaching her to a positive stance on sanctuary cities. The legislation in question, House Bill 2315, prevents cities from adopting sanctuary city policies, according to the general assembly website.
Michele Reneau“The bill wasn’t punishing the cities,” Hazlewood said by phone. “It was punishing businesses and the people who might be employed by those businesses.”
As chair of the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee, Hazlewood is in a powerful position, able to block bills she doesn’t think the committee should hear. She’s also in the same delegation as Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixon, her counterpart in the Senate.
Hazlewood has been targeted by the Tennessee Conservative and has decried the campaign rhetoric against her.
“I am disappointed there has been so much misinformation, incomplete information and just plain wrong information, ” Hazlewood said in an interview. “I’m running on my real, factual record.”
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That record includes a bill that advanced in the House last session with Senate support from Watson.
Hazlewood has worked with Watson on the Chris Wright bill, which passed in the House in April. It aims to apply heavier consequences to criminals with lengthy histories of misdemeanor offenses by classifying them as felons. The bill was named after Chattanooga businessman Chris Wright, who was shot and killed outside Patten Towers in 2023.
Hazlewood, a former AT&T executive, said that important work on infrastructure, especially in far flung parts of the state, is sometimes overlooked.
“I think a lot of the really important stuff doesn’t get media attention because it’s just the nuts and bolts of government,” Hazlewood said.
The winner will face Democrat Kathy Lennon in the general election.
HAKEEM V. COONROD
The race between Democrats Hakeem and Coonrod pits the 75-year-old incumbent and self described “low-key” personality, against a progressive who makes regular headlines. Most recently, Coonrod had to answer questions about her residency and survived legal action over it by the city. Her case was dismissed June 11 by Judge Michael J. Dumitru.
Hakeem, who has campaigned on a platform of housing, gun reform and health care, is well-liked by the rest of the Hamilton County legislative delegation.
But as the lone Democrat in the delegation, he admits it can sometimes be difficult to get policy into law.
“We have a close enough relationship that we can talk earnestly,” Hakeem said in a phone interview about his Hamilton County Republican colleagues. “The will is there, but I think within their broader caucus, their state caucus, you can be punished for trying to reimplement some of the plans I have. It’s going to take more citizens saying to my colleagues this is something we need.”
One of those policy changes Hakeem believes in is steeper punishment for adults who provide guns to minors. Hakeem is drafting a bill to address the issue.
Hakeem’s signature legislative accomplishment was broadening African American history requirements in school curriculums, which cleared the House 80-2 in 2022. It later passed the Senate.
Coonrod largely commended Hakeem for his relationship with the rest of the delegation, making it clear should she be elected, she would not upset the balance in the statehouse in a way that would isolate her. But she wouldn’t be quiet either.
“I think he could be more boisterous,” she said in an interview with the Times Free Press.
She pointed to his African American history bill.
“You can pass it, but it still has to be funded,” she said.
While she would have the same challenges as the only Democrat in the delegation, she said Hakeem is stuck with his votes.
“He has to vote on those bills because he’s controlled,” she said.
Coonrod’s own policy perspectives largely match with Hakeem’s, though she describes herself as more progressive than him. She said she would not have voted to ban gender affirming care for most children and teens in 2023.
Seventy-four Republicans voted for the bill, as did three Democrats, Hakeem among them.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton/ State Rep. Yusuf Hakeem answers a question June 29 during a candidate forum at the Chattanooga Public Library hosted by the Hamilton County Democratic Party.“In my own way, I felt like I was between a rock and a hard place,” Hakeem told the Times Free Press at the time.
He went on to compare gender affirming surgery to men in their early 20s who get a vasectomy and later regret it.
Coonrod’s policy views on health care dive into mental health and food. She wants to create awareness around the food supply and the use of various pesticides and food treatment techniques, noting most groceries in Tennessee should be exempt from a sales tax.
She went further, suggesting vaccines should also be closely watched, along with some chemicals in the food supply. She declined to say whether she received the COVID-19 vaccine.
She added that mental health care should be included in company health care plans.
Coonrod repeatedly pointed to the need for cooperation and said she would regularly meet with Watson in his capacity as chair of the Senate finance committee.
But division, she said, remains a major hurdle.
“Both sides are crazy at the statehouse,” she said.
The winner between Hakeem and Coonrod will face independent Thomas A. Brooks in November.
Contact William D’Urso at wdurso@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6125.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Chattanooga City Council member Demetrus Coonrod listens Jan. 29 as Mayor Tim Kelly answers a question during a city council meeting.