Ninth Congressional District candidate and state Sen. Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) is hitting the campaign trail following the general assembly’s gerrymandering of Memphis into three congressional districts, including a series of vital stops in Williamson County.
On May 20, Sen. Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) introduced Taylor at a Republican Women of Williamson County, calling him “someone who stepped up to the plate, who can deliver, who can run a campaign, can do it quickly,” noting his rising role in the state legislature throughout the 114th General Assembly. Taylor is also set to attend a Williamson County Republican Party event on May 28.
“I ran for Congress in 2002 against (U.S. Sen) Marsha Blackburn when she first was elected to Congress, and all I can say is you ain't had a butt whippin’ until you get you one of them Marsha Blackburn ones,” Taylor said to a roar of laughter from the audience, adding that he would only run for the 9th with Blackburn and Johnson’s support.
Taylor touts some 50 endorsements, including from Sen. Blackburn, who is running for governor, Sen. Bill Hagerty, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Williamson County District Attorney General Stacey Edmonson.
He spoke of the general assembly’s last day of special session, when the protests from activists and Democratic lawmakers delayed the eventual passage of the new maps. In the Senate, State Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) unveiled a sheet in protest that read “No Jim Crow 2.0” and “Stop the TN Steal,” standing on her desk and singing, while her Democratic Senate colleagues defiantly stood in the well.
Oliver later called her protest “the ultimate stand that I needed to take,” while Taylor criticized and demeaned her actions, comparing Oliver to an exotic dancer.
“I didn't have any singles, all I had were 20s which I still have,” Taylor said. “The table dance wasn't worth 20 bucks, but what happened is that episode cost them the four Republican votes that we're going to vote against, and it went down straight down party lines.”
Following the vote, Taylor immediately announced his candidacy for the expanded 9th district, which now includes the eastern portions of Williamson and Maury Counties, a small western portion of Rutherford County, a southeastern section of Shelby County, the bottom half of Fayette County, and all of Marshall, Bedford, Moore, Lincoln, Giles, Lawrence, Wayne, Hardin, McNairy and Hardeman Counties.
Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) is also running for the Republican nomination as well as Charlotte Bergmann, of Memphis, and Jeremy Thompson, of Fayetteville.
Taylor said that he’s been meeting with Republican leaders in Washington, D.C., including U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Louisiana Rep. and U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
“If we want strong borders, and we want to end illegal immigration, and we want to support President Trump and his laying out and implementing his agenda, and we want to provide impeachment insurance for President Trump in these final two years in office, we have to win,” Taylor said.
Taylor called Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy “Tennessee's only Soros-funded DA,” referring to left-leaning billionaire donor George Soros, a frequent boogeyman of the right, while characterizing Davidson County District Attorney General Glenn Funk as “Soros adjacent.”
Taylor has become a villain in the eyes of many Tennessee Democrats after playing a key role in the Republican supermajority’s “intervention” of the Memphis-Shelby County Schools system earlier this year, and sponsoring several major immigration bills last session.
Despite the partisan divide (that sometimes has been egged on by Taylor himself) he told the Williamson Scene that he’s ready to serve all District 9 constituents, including Democrats.
Several Democrats are running for the seat, most notably State Rep. Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), a rising national party star, and State Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis), a protégé of sitting 9th Congressional District Rep. Steve Cohen, who withdrew from the race on May 15.
Taylor told the Williamson Scene that while he’s not focused on his primary or potential general election challengers, he’s “look[ing] forward to taking the fight” to Pearson if he secures the Democratic nomination.
“If it is Justin Pearson, I will take the fight to him, because anybody that gets up off the House floor, goes up into the gallery, stands nose to nose with law enforcement, and calls him a ‘motherfucking boy ... ” referring to a tense moment between Pearson and Tennessee Highway Patrol during the special session that saw the arrest of Pearson’s brother.
“Eyes all across the nation will be looking at this district, because it'll be the one that'll flip from blue to red.”
A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that Sen. Taylor supported Rep. Scalise for Speaker of the House. Taylor was speaking about supporting Rep. Scalise in his role as House Majority Leader. The Williamson Scene regrets this error.
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