Tennessee’s state House District 65 will have a new representative this year following the retirement of current Rep. Sam Whitson (R-Franklin). Whitson, a retired U.S. Army colonel respected by state Republicans and Democrats alike, has endorsed current Williamson County Commission Chair Brian Beathard in the Republican primary.
“I’ve discovered since I’ve been up there [on Capitol Hill], county commissioners hit the ground running,” Whitson said in April. “They understand the budgetary process, they understand how to get things done, how to work as a team, and Brian will bring that experience from his years here in our county to Capitol Hill in Nashville.”
Beathard has positioned himself as a more moderate Republican who opposes school voucher bills and touts his support of the Second Amendment. He sees his support from many local and county leaders as critical to his campaign, describing them as his “mentors” who have helped make Williamson County successful.
“I want to fight for less regulations, again, particularly on business,” Beathard says. “I want to fight for local control of our city and county governments, and I want to end the redistribution of Williamson County tax dollars and get more money back for our schools and our roads. In short, I’m running to keep this seat Sam-esque.”
Swann, Whitson, Johnson and Jernigan are all in their final terms as state lawmakers
Beathard is facing two opponents in the Aug. 1 Republican primary: first-time candidate Lee Reeves, who has earned the endorsement of Gov. Bill Lee, and Michelle Foreman, who previously lost races for Nashville’s Metro Council in 2019 and House District 59 in 2022.
Reeves is a supporter of Gov. Lee’s voucher program, while Foreman is against vouchers. Both say addressing illegal immigration at the state level is a top policy concern. Reeves says that if elected he would propose a bill targeting “illegal entry” into Tennessee, which would criminalize being an undocumented immigrant in the state.
“We cannot enforce for the federal government what the federal government has not been enforcing, but we can enforce state law,” Reeves says. He adds that his proposed legislation would be modeled after similar laws in Texas and Oklahoma, where first offenses for “illegal occupation” are misdemeanors, and subsequent violations are felonies. Reeves’ goal is to “demagnetize Tennessee” to undocumented migrants.
Foreman is proposing an even more hardline approach, advocating for the overturning of the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, which ruled that a state can’t prevent children of undocumented immigrants from attending public schools. She also wants to see the state work with the federal government to enforce immigration laws, adding that she doesn’t support “any amnesty at all” and believes mass deportations are needed.
“Whether that’s back to their country of origin or back to the border, on the other side of it — either way — and the state needs to play a role in working with the federal government and getting that done,” says Foreman, noting that she believes undocumented children should also be deported.
Foreman has earned endorsements from District 61 State Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood), Tennessee Stands, and musician and right-wing activist John Rich.
Foreman has been involved in numerous lawsuits as both a defendant and a plaintiff, including being ordered to pay $100,000 in sanctions to former Metro Councilmember Dave Rosenberg, against whom she filed and lost a 2023 defamation suit. Foreman lost to Rosenberg for the District 35 council seat in 2019. The Tennessee Lookout reported that a judge found that “Foreman’s actions constituted a strategic lawsuit against public participation, known as a SLAPP suit,” a lawsuit meant to intimidate or financially burden someone.
Foreman says she’s appealing the ruling, and insists she was the victim of a “hit job on me by a liberal politician, a liberal judge.” She also sued her 2022 Democratic House District 59 challenger, Caleb Hemmer, for “libelous claims” in election ads. Hemmer won the race, and that case was later dismissed.
The winner of the Republican primary will face off against Democratic candidate LaRhonda Williams in November.
With early voting now open, see our coverage of state and federal primary matchups, the Nashville Banner’s extensive ballot guide and more
