Democratic voters might see state Rep. Gloria Johnson’s name twice on their August ballot. Five months into her campaign to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Senate, she’s also running to keep her seat in the Tennessee House.
“After a lot of deep reflection and after an outpouring of calls, texts and emails from voters in the district, I have made the decision to file for reelection to the (state) House in 2024 as I run for U.S. Senate,” Johnson told Knox News in a text.
Johnson must collect 25 signatures from District 90 residents and submit her completed candidacy paperwork to make it official. Candidates have until noon April 4 to file.
Running for two offices at once might seem unconventional, but it’s perfectly legal. Tennessee law says only that candidates can’t run for more than one state office at a time. That could soon change. State Sen. Richard Briggs has introduced a bill that would prevent a person from running for more than one public office in the same election.
“I know that some of my Republican colleagues feel threatened by this,” Johnson said in a text. “The people of District 90, as well as the people of Tennessee, have the right to decide who represents them, and I’m committed to earning their votes in November.”
In September, Democrat Seema Singh announced her plans to run for Johnson’s District 90 seat. She told Knox News she’s suspending her campaign to get out of Johnson’s way. Singh announced her plan to run on Sept. 20, but had not filed paperwork and will not appear on the ballot.
“We have to think of the big picture, right?” said Singh, who serves as a Knoxville City Council member but has been elected to two consecutive terms and is not eligible to run for reelection.
“How would it behoove me to (run against) somebody who I think can do big things? Because it’s not about ego, it’s about the larger issues.”
Singh is the only other Democrat who announced a bid for Johnson’s House seat. No Republican has filed to run in District 90.
In the event Johnson wins both her state House seat and the U.S. Senate seat, she would almost certainly take the Senate seat and the Knox County Commission would appoint someone to serve in the House until a special election could be held.
Singh told Knox News she’d seek the District 90 seat in the special election if Johnson heads to Washington.
Johnson has two opponents in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate: Memphis-based environmental activist Marquita Bradshaw and Fayette County Public Schools board member Civil Miller-Watkins. Tennesseans favored Johnson over Bradshaw and Miller Watkins in a January poll by the Beacon Center of Tennessee.
The winner of that primary will face an incredibly tough fight against Republican incumbent Sen. Marsha Blackburn. No Democrat has won a statewide race in Tennessee since Phil Bredesen was reelected governor in 2006.
District 90 includes the neighborhoods north of downtown Knoxville, Whittle Springs, West Hills and Inskip.
Johnson made national headlines when her Tennessee House colleagues unsuccessfully tried to oust her while kicking out fellow Democratic state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson after the three took to the House floor to loudly call for gun reform after the deadly shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School. Jones and Pearson were reinstated by voters in special elections.
Johnson has since made gun reform and women’s rights a large part of her platform.
Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.