David Byrd | |
---|---|
Member of the TennesseeHouseofRepresentatives from the 71st district | |
In office January 13, 2015 –January 10, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Vance Dennis |
Succeeded by | Kip Capley |
Personal details | |
Born | September 8,1957 |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Sherry |
Children | 4 |
Residence(s) | Waynesboro,Tennessee |
Education | Freed–Hardeman University (BS) Tennessee State University (MS) |
Website | Official website |
David Byrd (born September 8,1957) is an American politician and retired basketball coach from the state of Tennessee. A Republican,Byrd represented the 71st district of the Tennessee House of Representatives,based in Hardin,Lawrence,Lewis,and Wayne Counties in rural Middle Tennessee,from 2015 to 2023. [1] [2]
Byrd spent most of his career as a school administrator and basketball coach at Wayne County High School. He also served as a Wayne County Commissioner from 1990 through 1994. [3]
In 2014,Byrd announced he would challenge Vance Dennis,state representative for the 71st district,in the Republican primary. He narrowly defeated Dennis in the primary and went on to win the general election unopposed in the heavily Republican district. [3] [4]
In March 2018,three women accused Byrd of sexually abusing them while they were underage members of the high school basketball team he coached. Each of the three women detailed instances of Byrd touching and kissing them and making unwanted advances in 1988. [5] Byrd did not initially directly refute the allegations,and apologized to one of the women,but later issued a statement denying the accusations and "questioning the motives" of his accusers. Nonetheless,one of his alleged victims recorded him telling her,"I can promise you one thing,I have been so sorry for that,I've lived with that and you don't know how hard it has been for me." [6] He resisted calls to resign from influential Republicans such as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell,and won re-election in 2018. [7]
Calls for his resignation or retirement continued into 2019 and 2020,including an unsuccessful resolution by Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson to expel Byrd from the House. [8] In August 2019,Byrd promised fellow lawmakers he would not seek re-election in 2020 at the request of Governor Bill Lee;however,he reneged on that promise in April 2020 and filed for re-election. [9] Byrd drew two challengers in the August 2020 primary,but he won re-election.
In June 2020,Byrd voted in support of Tennessee House Resolution 340 stating that "mainstream media has sensationalized the reporting on COVID-19 in the service of political agendas." [10] [11] In December 2020,Byrd was hospitalized with COVID-19. [12] He had attended a caucus meeting with nearly 70 House Republicans in the House chamber on November 24,a week-and-a-half before he was hospitalized with the virus. He spent a total of eight months in the hospital,55 days on a ventilator,and required a liver transplant in June 2021. His condition was so grave,that his family had planned for his funeral. [13] [14] After recovering from the disease,he tepidly urged people to get vaccinated saying "I understand the concerns of those who are hesitant [to get the vaccine]. To them,I would say COVID is real,and it is very dangerous. It is a disease that wants to kill us. Please consider getting vaccinated." [15]
However,on August 11,2021,he joined all members of the state house Republican caucus in signing a letter to Governor Bill Lee asking him to prohibit mask and vaccine mandates. [6]
Byrd did not run for re-election in 2022.
Byrd lives in Waynesboro with his wife Sherry;they have four children and five grandchildren. [1]
Nancy Ruth Mace is an American politician who has been the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district since 2021. She is a member of the Republican Party.
Richard Glen Casada Jr. is an American politician,and a former Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives,where he represented District 63 from 2003 to 2023. He was the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives from January 8,2019 through August 2,2019,whereupon he resigned his post amid scandal. This was the shortest stint of a Tennessee Speaker of the House in modern history. Casada was previously the Majority Leader of the Tennessee House of Representatives. His opposition to Syrian refugees attracted national attention in the media in 2015.
Cameron A. Sexton is an American politician from Tennessee. A Republican,he has been a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 25th District since 2011,and has been the Speaker of the state House since 2019. Before becoming Speaker,Sexton was Majority Caucus Chairman.
Owen Michael Carter was an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing District 29 from January 8,2013 to May 15,2021. He served as the Chair of the House Civil Justice Committee.
Mark Edward Green is an American politician,physician,and retired U.S. Army officer who has served as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 7th congressional district since 2019. As a member of the Republican Party,Green has chaired the Committee on Homeland Security since 2023. Before his election to Congress,he served in the Tennessee Senate from 2013 to 2018,representing the 22nd district.
Andrew Steven Biggs is an American attorney and politician who represents Arizona's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. The district,which was once represented by U.S. Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake,is in the heart of the East Valley and includes most of Mesa and Chandler and all of Queen Creek and Biggs's hometown of Gilbert.
Gloria Johnson is an American politician and Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives currently representing District 90,and formerly District 13,based in Knoxville. In April 2023,she and two other state representatives faced expulsion votes from the Tennessee General Assembly after taking to the floor of the State House unrecognized to protest gun violence. Johnson was the only one of the three legislators not to be expelled. Johnson was the Democratic Party nominee for the 2024 United States Senate election in Tennessee,losing in a landslide to incumbent Republican Marsha Blackburn.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee was held on November 6,2018,to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Tennessee,one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices,including the gubernatorial election.
John Williams Rose is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 6th congressional district since 2019. A Republican,he was commissioner of agriculture for Tennessee and president of Boson Software,LLC.
Ronald Jack Wright was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 6th congressional district from 2019 until his death from COVID-19 in 2021. He was a member of the Republican Party.
Darren Bailey is an American politician who was a Republican member of the Illinois Senate for the 55th District and previously a member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 109th District in Southern Illinois. Widely described by news outlets as a far-right politician,he was the Republican nominee for the 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election,which he lost to incumbent J. B. Pritzker.
Matthew Maddock is an American politician in the Republican Party serving as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. His district,the 51st,represents areas covering part of Oakland County. In his first term,Maddock was appointed to be the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation,as well as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. A Republican,Maddock was first elected in 2018. Prior to being elected to the 110-member Michigan House of Representatives,he was a businessman in Oakland County.
Thomas Richard Tillis is an American politician who served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from the 92nd district as a member of the Republican Party. During his tenure in the state house he served as the Majority Whip.
Scott Cepicky is an American politician and former athlete who serves in the Tennessee House of Representatives,representing the 64th district. Cepicky is a member of the Republican Party.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Tennessee on March 5,2020. As of June 5,2022,there are 2,023,815 confirmed cases,26,103 deaths,and 12,825,885 reported tests.
Robert George Good is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia. A member of the Republican Party,he is currently the U.S. representative from Virginia's 5th congressional district. Prior to his election to Congress,Good served as a member of the Board of Supervisors in Campbell County,Virginia,for three years. He also worked at his alma mater,Liberty University,and for Citi.
Rick Eldridge is an American politician. He is a Republican representing Tennessee's 10th House District,which solely encompasses the Western portion of Hamblen County and Grainger County,in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Clay Doggett is an American businessman,law enforcement officer,and politician from the state of Tennessee. A Republican,Doggett has represented the 70th district of the Tennessee House of Representatives,based in Giles and Lawrence Counties,since 2019.
Chris A. Johansen is an American politician from Maine. He served as a Republican in the Maine House of Representatives for Maine's 145th House of Representatives district,which comprises 20 towns in Aroostook County. An outspoken opponent of state-mandated public health measures put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic,his wife later died from the disease. He resigned from office on November 19,2021.
The 2022 Tennessee House of Representatives election was held on November 8,2022,to elect 99 seats for the Tennessee House of Representatives. The elections coincided with the Governor,U.S. House,and State Senate elections.