Expulsion to Re-Election – The ‘Tennessee Three’ Bounce BACK!

(USNewsMag.com) – The two Tennessee lawmakers who were expelled in April were officially re-elected to their seats on August 3.

Rep. Justin Pearson, from Memphis, beat independent candidate Jeff Johnston. While Rep. Justin Jones beat Republican candidate Laura Nelson in the Aug. 3 special election. According to unofficial results from Tennessee’s Secretary of State’s office, both easily defeated their opponents in districts that tend to favor Democrats heavily.

The two lawmakers, who were originally elected in 2022, were expelled from the Tennessee Legislature in April after a protest on the House floor over gun control. The two lawmakers, as well as Democrat Rep. Gloria Johnson, joined protesters who were calling on lawmakers to enact more gun control measures after a school shooting in Nashville. Jones and Pearson used a bullhorn on the House floor during the protest.

Republicans in the Tennessee Legislature said House rules were violated by the three lawmakers and moved to expel them all. However, Johnson’s expulsion failed by one vote. Pearson and Jones had been reinstated to their seats temporarily by local officials until the Aug. 3 special election.

As a result of the expulsion vote, Pearson, Jones, and Johnson gained national attention, being called the “Tennessee Three.” Jones and Pearson then raised more than $2 million from 70,400 campaign donations that came from across the country.

The Aug. 3 special election also affected two other seats in the Legislature.

Aftyn Behn beat Anthony Davis to advance to the general election for a House seat that had been held by Democratic Rep. Bill Beck, who died in June.

Timothy Hill, a Republican, defeated Lori Love, a Democrat, who was running for the seat representing District 3. The seat was held by Rep. Scotty Campbell, who resigned after it was disclosed that he violated the workplace discrimination and harassment policy.

At the end of August, lawmakers in Tennessee will hold a special session to consider changes to the gun control laws in the state.