Justin Jones

Current office and 2026 campaign

Justin Jones is a Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing District 52, having assumed office on April 10, 2023, following his reinstatement by the Metropolitan Nashville Council after a prior expulsion from the chamber ¹⁶⁹. His current term is scheduled to end on November 3, 2026 ¹.

Jones is seeking re-election to represent District 52 in the 2026 general election ¹. He is listed on the ballot for the Democratic primary scheduled for August 6, 2026 ¹⁵. The general election for this seat is set for November 5, 2026 ⁷.

Background and education

Justin Bautista-Jones was born on August 25, 1995, in Oakland, California ⁶. He grew up in the East Bay region of California, where he attended public school and learned early on the importance of advocating for equality ⁸. His mother, Christine, raised him and his sister while pursuing her nursing degree, and she is now a registered nurse active in the California chapter of National Nurses United ⁸. He is the grandson of Black, working-class grandparents from the South Side of Chicago who moved from West Tennessee during the Great Migration, as well as Filipino immigrants who migrated to California during World War II ⁸.

Jones attended Fisk University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree ⁶. He also pursued further education at Vanderbilt University ⁶.

Career

Justin Jones was born in Oakland, California, and grew up in the East Bay region ⁸. He attended public school there, where he learned the importance of speaking up for equality at an early age ⁸. His mother, Christine, raised him and his sister while attending nursing school; she is now a registered nurse active in the California chapter of National Nurses United ⁸. Jones is the grandson of Black, working-class grandparents from the South Side of Chicago who moved from West Tennessee during the Great Migration, as well as Filipino immigrants who migrated to California during World War II ⁸.

Jones earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fisk University and attended Vanderbilt University ⁶. Professionally, he identifies as an activist, organizer, legislator, representative, minister, community leader, environmentalist, and gun violence prevention advocate ⁷. He describes himself as deeply committed to justice work and collective liberation, drawing on a tradition of resistance from his familial and movement ancestors ⁷.

Office history

Justin Jones served in the Tennessee House of Representatives for District 52 during two separate periods. He was first elected to the seat in the general election on November 8, 2022 ². He assumed office on January 10, 2023, succeeding Mike Stewart ⁶. His tenure in this initial term ended on April 6, 2023, when the Tennessee House of Representatives voted 72-25 to expel him via House resolution 65 ¹.

Following his expulsion, Jones was reinstated to the same seat after the Metropolitan Nashville Council voted unanimously to return him to the state Legislature on April 10, 2023 ⁵. He was sworn in again on that date, succeeding himself in the role ⁶. His current term is scheduled to end on November 3, 2026 ¹.

Jones is currently seeking re-election to represent District 52. He is listed on the ballot for the Democratic primary election scheduled for August 6, 2026 ¹.

Legislative record and accomplishments

Justin Jones assumed office in the Tennessee House of Representatives for District 52 on April 10, 2023, following a unanimous vote by the Metropolitan Nashville Council to reinstate him after he had been expelled from the chamber ¹³⁶. His initial tenure began earlier that year on January 10, 2023, when he was elected in the November 2022 general election ²⁶. During his first few weeks in office, Jones participated in a protest regarding gun violence on the House floor, which led to a vote by the Tennessee House of Representatives on April 6, 2023, to expel him via House Resolution 65 with a 72-25 vote ¹⁵.

Jones is identified as an activist, organizer, and gun violence prevention advocate who describes himself as deeply committed to justice work and collective liberation ⁷. He has served as a minister and community leader within his district ⁷. While specific committee assignments are not detailed in the provided sources, his legislative focus has been characterized by his role as a representative for District 52, which contained an average of 69,868 residents following the 2020 Census ⁴.

Jones is currently seeking re-election to represent District 52 in the Democratic primary scheduled for August 6, 2026 ¹⁵. His campaign materials emphasize building a movement for the South and highlight his background as an environmentalist and his familial ties to the Great Migration and civil rights traditions ⁷⁸.

Documented disputes and controversies

On April 6, 2023, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted 72-25 to expel Jones from his seat following a protest on the chamber floor regarding gun violence legislation ¹¹⁰¹¹. The expulsion was part of a broader action against three Democratic representatives who had joined demonstrators in the public galleries and led chants from the well of the House three days after the Nashville school shooting ¹⁰¹². Jones described the vote as "unconstitutional" and a "lynching of democracy," while also confronting a Republican lawmaker who he accused of essentially calling him an "uppity negro" during the proceedings ¹⁵¹⁷.

Jones was reinstated to office on April 10, 2023, after the Nashville Metropolitan Council voted unanimously to return him to the Legislature ¹⁹¹⁶. The council suspended its rules to allow for an immediate vote, and Jones was sworn in on the steps of the state Capitol shortly thereafter ⁹. He served as an interim legislator until a special election could be called, noting that the vote demonstrated "people power" over the decision of House Speaker Cameron Sexton ¹³.

Jones has maintained ongoing political tensions with Republican leadership in the Tennessee House. Nearly a year after his expulsion and reinstatement, reports indicated that Jones remained at odds with GOP lawmakers during the 2024 legislative session, with some members attempting to relitigate the expulsion fight ¹⁴.

Business interests and wealth source

Justin Jones describes himself as an activist, organizer, legislator, representative, minister, community leader, and environmentalist ⁷. He states that his work is grounded in a tradition of resistance from his familial and movement ancestors ⁷. Jones was born in Oakland, California, and grew up in the East Bay ⁸. His mother, Christine, raised him and his sister while attending nursing school, and she is now a registered nurse active in the California chapter of National Nurses United ⁸. He is the grandson of Black, working-class grandparents from the South Side of Chicago who moved from West Tennessee during the Great Migration, as well as Filipino immigrants who migrated to California during World War II ⁸.

Jones attended public school in the East Bay and later earned a Bachelor of Arts from Fisk University and studied at Vanderbilt University ⁶. Specific details regarding his personal business interests, ownership stakes, sales of businesses, or sources of family wealth are not provided in the available records ¹²⁵⁶.

Family

Justin Jones was born in Oakland, California, and grew up in the East Bay ⁸. He is the grandson of Black, working-class grandparents from the South Side of Chicago who moved from West Tennessee during the Great Migration, as well as Filipino immigrants who migrated to California during World War II ⁸. His mother, Christine, raised him and his sister while attending nursing school and is now a registered nurse active in the California chapter of National Nurses United ⁸.

Jones self-describes himself as deeply embedded in a tradition of resistance grounded by his familial and movement ancestors ⁷. There are no publicly notable records of his spouse or children in the provided sources, nor are there indications that any family members hold political office.

Sources