Following the 2006 elections, Democrats regained District 27 after the party-switching incumbent Don McLeary lost re-election. This returned the Tennessee State Senate to a narrow 17–16 Republican majority, the same margin as in 2004. Unlike in 2005, when two Republicans sided with Democrats to re-elect John Wilder as Speaker, Republicans remained united this time and successfully elected Ron Ramsey, making him the first Republican Senate Speaker since Philip P.C. Nelson in 1869.[2]
Background
Beginning in 2005, Republicans gained control of the Tennessee Senate for the first time since 1869, holding a slim one-vote majority. Despite the edge, Republicans were denied control of the chamber's leadership. On January 11, 2005, two Republican senators—Michael Williams of Maynardville and Tim Burchett of Knoxville—broke with their party and voted with Democrats to re-elect long-time Senate Speaker John Wilder by an 18–15 margin, and was sworn in for his eighteenth term as lieutenant governor. Their defections, combined with Wilder's unanimous Democratic support, secured his hold on the speakership.[3]
As part of the power-sharing arrangement that followed, Wilder appointed Williams as Speaker pro tempore and gave Republicans majorities on seven of the Senate's nine committees. However, he retained five Democratic committee chairmen, leaving Democrats in charge of two committees, including the influential Finance Committee. This compromise angered many Republicans, who felt they had been unfairly denied full control despite their majority.[4]
In February 2006, Democratic senator Don McLeary switched his party affiliation to the Republican Party.[5] This grew the senate majority temporally to a 18–15 Republican edge.
Aftermath
When the Senate reconvened in January 2007 following the 2006 elections, the political dynamics shifted. Both Michael Williams and Tim Burchett cast their votes for Republican Ron Ramsey. There was a crossover vote from Rosalind Kurita, a Democratic senator from Clarksville, who surprised colleagues by voting for Ramsey. Kurita described her action as a “vote of conscience,” arguing that Republicans had been undemocratically denied leadership two years earlier. With her support, Ramsey was elected Senate Speaker by an 18–15 margin, becoming the first Republican to hold the position in nearly 140 years. Kurita was subsequently chosen as Speaker pro tempore.[4][6]
Kathryn I. Bowers halted her campaign for Tennessee State Senate after resigning office on September 1, 2006. The Shelby County Democratic Party selected Reginald Tate as a replacement for Bowers on the ballot.[1]
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