NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — When Knox County voters head to the polls this year, they'll be seeing double. Gloria Johnson announced last year she plans to run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Marsha Blackburn.
But she's also qualified to run for her current Tennessee House seat. Both races will be on the same ballot.
Watch Rep. Gloria Johnson and other lawmakers in the player above.
"It is in the law. It’s been done before. People have been on the ballot for two times," explained Rep. Johnson, D-Knoxville, during a news conference Thursday.
Republican lawmakers now want to stop that practice. The proposed bill — sponsored by Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville — prevents someone from appearing on the ballot twice or holding two offices at the same time.
"It’s something that needs to be addressed," said Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge.
Rep. Johnson claims she's been targeted
Sen. Briggs contends he started drafting the bill, long before Johnson announced her candidacy for both seats.
"The bill was drafted late summer, " said Sen. Briggs in a statement to NewsChannel 5. "If Rep. Johnson had announced last summer she was running for two offices, I missed it and apologize. As a matter of principle, I don't believe anyone should be able to hold up to five offices simultaneously."
Rep. Johnson doesn't buy that explanation.
"Bless their hearts, it wasn’t about me, huh?" she said. "Well that’s funny because I’ve been hearing from their folks all summer long, and since however long I’ve talked about the potential, that they’re going to bring a bill if I do."
Wider impact
But this bill won't just impact Rep. Johnson.
Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, R-East Ridge, serves both in the Tennessee House and as a city council member for East Ridge. Both elections were on the same 2020 ballot.
Rep. Helton-Haynes tells NewsChannel 5 she has no plans to run for another term on the city council and supports the legislation.
"No candidate should ever run for multiple public offices at the same time if they do not intend to serve in both positions if elected," she wrote in a statement to NewsChannel 5. "I knew I could fulfill my obligations to voters as a state representative and as a member of the East Ridge City Council, which is what I have done."
NewsChannel 5 Political Analyst Pat Nolan says Helton-Haynes and Johnson aren't the first to try to run and hold multiple positions.
"There have been situations in the past when people in the Metro Council were both a council member and a state representative," said Nolan.
Does she need to choose?
Nolan also thinks this decision could be undercutting Johnson's senate campaign.
"That sort of sends a message to voters, well I’m not so sure I’m going to get elected to the Senate," said Nolan.
"If Gloria Johnson truly believes she will win the Democratic primary and General Election in November, why is she running for both seats?" Sen. Marsha Blackburn's campaign manager Abigail Sigler said in a statement.
As lawmakers decide whether Knox County voters will see double, the two sides doubled down on their positions during the Thursday caucus news conferences.
"She needs to choose what she’s really interested in and not use one as a safety," said Lt. Gov. McNally.
"These men are so easily triggered. They are so emotional, and I think they are too emotional to govern," quipped Rep. Johnson.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
