Rick Tillis Explained

Rick Tillis
State House:Tennessee
District:92nd
Term Start:November 8, 2016
Term End:November 3, 2020
Predecessor:Billy Spivey
Successor:Todd Warner
Party:Republican
Birth Name:Thomas Richard Tillis
Birth Date:22 September 1963
Birth Place:Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Spouse:Terry Tillis
Relations:Thom Tillis (brother)

Thomas Richard Tillis (born September 22, 1963) 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.

Tillis, who is the brother of US Senator Thom Tillis, received a GED from the Florida Department of Education. He was elected to the state house in Tennessee in the 2016 election and served until he was defeated in the 2020 Republican primary by Todd Warner. Tillis served as the Majority Whip from 2018 to until his resignation in 2019, after it was discovered that he was running a Twitter account critical of other Republicans in the state house.

Early life

Thomas Richard Tillis was born on September 22, 1963, to Margie and Thomas Raymond Tillis.[1] [2] He received a GED from the Florida Department of Education.[2] His brother, Thom Tillis, was elected as a United States Senator from North Carolina.[3]

Tennessee House of Representatives

Elections

Tillis ran for the Republican nomination for a seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives from the 92nd district in the 2016 election. He defeated Michael Waggoner by forty votes and defeated Democratic nominee Tamra King in the election.[4] [5] In the 2018 election he defeated Billy Spivey in the Republican primary and Democratic nominee C.S. Coffey in the election.[6] [7] Tillis ran for reelection in the 2020 election, but was defeated by Todd Warner in the Republican primary making him one of four incumbents in the state house to lose renomination.[8] [9]

Tenure

Tillis introduced his first bill in 2017, which attempted to reduce the size of the Tennessee government and it was passed by the state house.[10] During his tenure he served on the Local, State, and Finance, Ways, and Means committees.[11]

During the 2018 United States Senate election Tillis filed a complaint to the United States Office of Special Counsel calling for an investigation into Phil Bredesen's campaign treasurer, Virginia Lodge, for appearing in a campaign ad. Tillis' complaint alleged that Lodge, who was a board member of the Tennessee Valley Authority, was in violation of the Hatch Act by serving as the treasure of Bredesen's campaign while also serving as a federal employee. He stated that being a treasurer was not in violation of the act, but appearing in advertisements was a violation.[12]

In 2018, Tillis was selected by the Republican caucus to serve as the Majority Whip of the Tennessee House of Representatives.[13] In August 2019, House Majority Leader William Lamberth and Representative Andy Holt stated that Tillis had admitted to running an account on Twitter which criticized other Republican members of the Tennessee House of Representatives.[14] On August 30, Representative Jeremy Faison, the chairman of the GOP House caucus, announced in an email that Tillis had stepped down as the Majority Whip.[15] On January 27, 2020, Johnny Garrett was selected to replace Tillis as the Majority Whip.[16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: October 17, 2013 . Thom Tillis Is the Strategist . Charlotte Magazine . live . https://archive.today/20200807101608/https://www.charlottemagazine.com/thom-tillis-is-the-strategist/ . August 7, 2020 . August 7, 2020 .
  2. News: Rick Tillis' Biography . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200807101955/https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/170396/rick-tillis . August 7, 2020.
  3. News: September 8, 2019 . Rep. Tillis steps down as Tennessee House GOP whip amid anonymous Twitter account controversy . . live . https://archive.today/20200807102058/https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2019/sep/08/rep-tillsteps-down-tennessee-house-gop-whip-a/503083/ . August 7, 2020 . August 7, 2020 .
  4. News: 2016 primary results . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211201034939/http://sos-tn-gov-files.s3.amazonaws.com/1%20Republican%20County%20Totals.pdf . December 1, 2021.
  5. News: 2016 election results . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220102045401/http://sos-tn-gov-files.s3.amazonaws.com/TNHousebyCountyNov2016.pdf . January 2, 2022.
  6. News: 2018 primary results . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211113192324/https://sos-tn-gov-files.tnsosfiles.com/180802_RepbyOffice.pdf . November 13, 2021.
  7. News: 2018 election results . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211201030448/https://sos-tn-gov-files.tnsosfiles.com/Nov%202018%20General%20Totals.pdf . December 1, 2021.
  8. News: August 6, 2020 . Four incumbent state lawmakers lose reelection bids. Here's a look at the primaries with incumbents. . . live . https://archive.today/20200807105612/https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/06/tennessee-legislature-incumbents-primary-elections-2020/5572291002/ . August 7, 2020 . August 7, 2020.
  9. News: 2020 primary results . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211122231846/https://sos-tn-gov-files.tnsosfiles.com/Aug%202020%20Republican%20Primary%20County%20Totals.pdf . November 22, 2021.
  10. News: March 17, 2020 . State Rep Rick Tillis passes first legislative bill . Marshall County Tribune . live . https://archive.today/20200807110022/https://www.marshalltribune.com/story/2396325.html . August 7, 2020 . August 7, 2020.
  11. News: Representative Rick Tillis . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220131074804/https://www.capitol.tn.gov/house/archives/111GA/members/h92.html . January 31, 2022.
  12. News: November 20, 2018 . Lawmaker files complaint against Bredesen treasurer . A16 . . live . https://archive.today/20200807105232/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56865385/the-tennessean/ . August 7, 2020 . . August 7, 2020.
  13. News: November 20, 2018 . Selected as Majority Whip . A16 . . live . https://archive.today/20200807104425/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/56865262/the-tennessean/ . August 7, 2020 . . August 7, 2020.
  14. News: August 22, 2019 . Anonymous tweets. A peed-on chair. Control of the caucus campaign committee: The latest House GOP scuffle . . live . https://archive.today/20200807102659/https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/22/tennessee-house-gop-anonymous-twitter-account-pee-on-chair-andy-holt-rick-tillis-chbmole/2066321001/ . August 7, 2020 . August 7, 2020.
  15. News: September 4, 2019 . Rep. Rick Tillis, facing scrutiny for role in anonymous Twitter account, resigns House leadership post . . live . https://archive.today/20200807102824/https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2019/09/04/tennessee-legislature-rep-rick-tillis-resigns-house-whip-post/2210922001/ . August 7, 2020 . April 10, 2020.
  16. News: January 28, 2020 . Tennessee House GOP Elect New Majority Whip . . live . https://archive.today/20200807103240/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/tennessee/articles/2020-01-28/tennessee-house-gop-elect-new-majority-whip . August 7, 2020 . August 7, 2020.

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