{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Jay D. Reedy","chatgptsummary":"Jay D. Reedy's biography shows relevant experience as a long-serving State Representative and former Election Board commissioner, demonstrating familiarity with legislative processes and local constituents. He previously sought party leadership but lost an intra-party vote in 2019. Bio does not indicate prior experience drafting complex statute or building cross-partisan coalitions.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nJay D. Reedy is a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing District 74, covering Houston, Humphreys, and Montgomery counties, since 2015. He ran for reelection in 2022 and 2024. In 2025, Reedy announced his candidacy for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District.\n\nReedy is a conservative Republican. In 2023, he supported a resolution to expel three Democratic lawmakers from the Tennessee legislature for violating decorum rules.\n\n## Background and education\nReedy was born June 23, 1963, in Tennessee. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Austin Peay State University.\n\n## Career\nBefore entering politics, Reedy worked as a cattle farmer, locksmith, and army reserve officer, and served as a commissioner on the Houston County Election Board. In 2014, he challenged Democratic incumbent John Tidwell and won with 52% of the vote, becoming the first Republican to represent the 74th District since Reconstruction. In 2019, he sought the House Speaker position but lost an intra-party vote to Cameron Sexton.\n\n## Family\nReedy resides in Erin, Tennessee, with his wife Vickie, a teacher at Houston County High School. They have three children.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Jay Reedy \u2013 Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Reedy)\n- [2] [Representative Jay Reedy \u2013 Tennessee House Republican Caucus](https://tnhousegop.org/members/representative-jay-reedy/)\n- [3] [Meet Jay \u2013 Jay Reedy for Tennessee](https://www.jayreedyfortennessee.com/meet-jay.html)\n","firstname":"Jay D.","lastname":"Reedy","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"p11SdmVrVL"},"token":null}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":"074","districtgroup":"state_house","districtgroupname":"State House","districtname":"District 74","job_type":"state_representative","o.office":"state_house_074","office":"state_house_074","officedescription":"The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the state legislature, with 99 members elected from single-member districts to two-year terms. Representatives pass state laws, originate revenue bills, approve the state budget, and \u2014 together with the Senate \u2014 confirm gubernatorial appointments and propose constitutional amendments. Candidates must be at least 21 years old, U.S. citizens, Tennessee residents for at least three years, and district residents for at least one year.","officequalities":"- **Integrity** \u2014 Acts in the interest of constituents and the public good rather than for personal gain, and remains independent of undue influence from donors, lobbyists, and party leadership.\n- **Understanding of the constituency** \u2014 Grasps both the economic-development needs of the district and the day-to-day concerns of individual residents \u2014 safety, healthcare, education, infrastructure.\n- **Persuasion** \u2014 Engages, listens to, and persuades both fellow legislators and constituents. Can change minds and explain votes honestly.\n- **Legislative craft** \u2014 Reads, drafts, and amends statute with care. Understands how specific bill language translates to outcomes, and knows the body of law being modified.\n- **Coalition-building** \u2014 Finds common ground across partisan and factional lines, brokers compromises that hold, and forms working majorities even when consensus is hard to reach.","officeterm":2,"officetitle":"State Representative District 74","partisan":1,"pgr":"primary","quantity":null,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-06-01","title":"TN SoS \u2014 Candidates for Tennessee House of Representatives (2026)","url":"https://sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/TNHouse_2026.pdf"},"title":"TN House District 74"}