Tennessee GOP gains shock Democrats

NASHVILLE -- Roll over, Andrew Jackson: Voters in Nashville's Hermitage section just elected a Republican to represent you in Tennessee's state House.

Jackson, the 19th-century president and the fiercely partisan founder of the national Democratic Party, lived at and is buried in The Hermitage.

The home and grounds are in the 60th District, whose voters elected Republican Jim Gotto, a Davidson County Metro councilman, to the state House on Tuesday.

Gotto is among 14 Republicans who toppled incumbent Democrats or won open Democratic seats in the Tennessee House.

HOUSE LEADERSHIP CANDIDATESSpeaker: Glen Casada, of College Grove, vs. Beth Harwell, of NashvilleMajority leader: Gerald McCormick, of Chattanooga, vs. Jon Lundberg, of Bristol

According to unofficial returns from the Tennessee Secretary of State's office, Republicans' share of the 99-member House soared from 50 to 64 and Democrats' share shrank from 48 seats to 34. There is one independent, Kent Williams, of Elizabethton, who was drummed from the GOP when he teamed with Democrats in 2009 and got himself elected speaker.

State Senate Republicans, meanwhile, boosted their share of seats from 19 to 20 , leaving Democrats with just 13 seats. Republicans also swept the governorship and three U.S. House seats.

The gains put the party in its strongest position in Tennessee since post-Civil War Reconstruction.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner, of Nashville, who narrowly won re-election, said he was "totally stunned" at the ruin of Democrats' hopes.

"I just think there was so much anger at Washington. It was just a backlash against Washington that we got caught up in," Turner said.

"If Mahatma Gandhi had been a Democrat yesterday, he probably would have gotten killed if he was in the wrong district," Turner said.

House Republican Caucus Chairman Glen Casada was as surprised as anyone at the magnitude of the GOP victory.

"We knew there were 14 seats in play," Casada said. "Law of averages, running against incumbents, you might win half, maybe. But we won 14. It was a surprise to win every seat that was in play."

Rural rejection

Democratic lawmakers from Tennessee's rural areas took it on the chin. Ten of the 12 white Democratic incumbents who lost races hailed from largely rural areas, including Rep. George Fraley, D-Winchester.

Two other white lawmakers represented suburban areas. Democrats also lost two open seats held by white Democrats who retired. One of them was District 60 where The Hermitage sits.

Only nine rural House Democrats survived, including Rep. Bill Harmon, D-Dunlap, who had no opponent.

Fifteen of the 34 remaining House Democrats are black. Only five House Democrats remain in East Tennessee. They include Harmon; Rep. Tommie Brown, D-Chattanooga; and Rep. JoAnne Favors, D-Chattanooga.

Republican Gov.-elect Bill Haslam described himself as "very pleased" to have such strong Republican majorities in the state House and Senate.

Gov. Phil Bredesen, a term-limited Democrat, said he was "sorry about some" of the Democrats who lost Tuesday, calling them "good people caught up in a tide."

But he said he doesn't think Tennessee Democrats can be written off as a political force in the Volunteer State.

Dr. Robert Swansbrough, a political science professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, said politics are cyclical. Tennessee Republicans, including Haslam, were better funded than Democrats in a year when where Americans are "anxious" about the economy.

Casada said he isn't counting Tennessee Democrats out for good.

"Look, in 2006, everybody thought the GOP was dead, and so if we don't fulfill our promises -- what we ran on -- the pendulum could be back against us," he said. "No political party is ever dead, just down."

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