Big Stakes in a Little Tennessee House Election

If it's possible for an election that will take place in only one 99th of a state that has only one 49th of the U.S. population to have national implications, today's race in Tennessee's 62nd House District fits the bill. This little election has big implications for control of the Tennessee House of Representatives and both legislative and congressional redistricting.

The Tennessee House, you might remember, was the home to a legislative coup earlier this year. Tennessee was one of the few states where Republicans made major legislative gains in the 2008 elections. In the House, they moved into a 50-49 advantage. However, Democrats teamed up with a lone renegade Republican, Kent Williams, to take back power. They elected Williams speaker.

Today, Williams and the Democrats' hold on the Tennessee House appears to be in jeopardy. Curt Cobb, a Democratic house member, resigned this summer to take a new job. A win by Republicans in his district would allow them to form a majority without Williams. I haven't seen much commentary on whether the Tennessee House can elect a new speaker before the 2010 elections, but Bill Pascoe of Congressional Quarterly suggests that they can:

Thus, the special election for the 62nd house district, currently controlled by the Democrats, will give Republicans an opportunity to truly control the chamber -- should the Republican candidate win, GOP strength in the lower house would grow to 51 votes, Democratic strength would fall to 48 votes, and a motion to vacate the Speakership could be in order, giving Republicans once again the chance to take control of the body a year before the critical 2010 elections that will elect the Tennessee House that will redistrict the state in 2011.

http://ballotbox.governing.com/2009/10/big-stakes-in-a-little-tennessee-house-election.html

These special elections are where Get Out The Vote can really make the difference.

And believe me, the GOP really wants this seat and total control of the Tennessee legislature.

Here in TN, we must be 20-30 years behind the times. It feels like Reagan-Bush years here.

We've had a great Dem governor for 7 years, rescued the state from the financial disaster caused by the previous Republican governor (Sundquist) but the legislature has gone Republican in the last 2 elections.