Justin Lafferty

Justin Augustus Lafferty (born May 13, 1971) is an American politician from the state of Tennessee. A Republican, Lafferty has represented the 89th district of the Tennessee House of Representatives, based in the western suburbs of Knoxville, since 2019.[1][2]

Justin Lafferty
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 89th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2019
Preceded byRoger Kane
Personal details
Born (1971-05-13) May 13, 1971
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceKnoxville, Tennessee
EducationUniversity of Tennessee (BS)
WebsiteOfficial website
Campaign website

Career

In 2018, Roger Kane announced his retirement from the 89th district of the Tennessee House of Representatives, and a crowded field formed to replace him. Lafferty, a stay-at-home father and a landlord, was considered a significant underdog against several of his competitors, including former Knox County sheriff Tim Hutchison and former state senator Stacey Campfield. However, Lafferty outpolled both to win the primary with just over 30% of the vote.[3] In the strongly Republican suburban seat, Lafferty went on to soundly win the general election over Democrat Coleen Martinez, 64-36%.[4]

In April 2023, Lafferty was seen assaulting Democratic Representative Justin Jones during a meeting in the Tennessee State House. The incident was captured on a mobile device and uploaded to the internet for thousands of viewers to see.[5] Republican Representatives took steps to expel Jones, who represents District 52 in Tennessee, along with two other Democratic Representatives (Gloria Johnson and Justin J. Pearson) on April 3, 2023, after showing support for protests in favor of gun reform legislation at the Tennessee State Capitol following the Covenant School shooting which left six people dead the previous week on March 27. [6]

Remarks on Three-Fifths Compromise

On May 4, 2021, Lafferty made a speech on the Tennessee House floor in defense of the Three-fifths Compromise, a provision of the original U.S. Constitution resulting from a 1787 agreement between northern and southern states, providing that three-fifths of a state's slave population would be counted for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The compromise is regarded as one of the most racist deals among the states during the country’s founding. Lafferty inaccurately claimed in his speech that the three-fifths compromise was adopted for "the purpose of ending slavery."[7][8][9]

Personal life

Lafferty lives in Knoxville with his wife and daughter.[10]

References
  1. "Representative Justin Lafferty". Tennessee General Assembly. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  2. "Justin Lafferty". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  3. Ryan Wilusz (August 2, 2018). "Justin Lafferty pulls GOP upset in District 89, to face Coleen Martinez in November". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  4. Brenna McDermott (November 6, 2018). "TN Election: Lafferty wins State House District 89 with 64 percent of votes". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  5. Bickerton, James (April 4, 2023). "Tennessee Republican shoving democrat during "melee" sparks outrage". Newsweek. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  6. Nadine Yousif (April 4, 2023). "Tennessee Democrats face expulsion after calls for gun control". BBC News. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  7. Rick Rojas (May 4, 2021). "Tennessee Lawmaker Is Criticized for Remarks on Three-Fifths Compromise". New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  8. Nicholas Reimann (May 4, 2021). "Tennessee Lawmaker Bizarrely Defends Three-Fifths Compromise As 'Ending Slavery'". Forbes. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  9. KIMBERLEE KRUESI (May 4, 2021). "GOP lawmaker: Three-Fifths Compromise was to end slavery". Associated Press. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  10. "Justin Lafferty, Conservative for State Representative". Vote For Lafferty. Retrieved July 31, 2020.


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