Bob Freeman (Tennessee)

Bob Freeman

Democratic Party

Candidate, Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Tenure

2018 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

6

Compensation

Base salary

$28,405.96/year

Per diem

$326.47/day. Legislators living within 50 miles of the Capitol receive a reduced amount of $47 per day.

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

Middle Tennessee State University

Graduate

Lipscomb University

Personal

Birthplace

Nashville, Tenn.

Religion

Presbyterian

Profession

Vice president

Contact

Official website

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Bob Freeman (Democratic Party) is a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing District 56. He assumed office on November 6, 2018. His current term ends on November 3, 2026.

Freeman (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the Tennessee House of Representatives to represent District 56. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Biography

Bob Freeman was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University and a master’s degree from Lipscomb University. Freeman’s career experience includes working as Vice President at Freeman Webb. He has served on the board of the Tennessee Environmental Council, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Metro Sustainability Advisory Committee and the U.S. Green Building Council's Tennessee Market Leadership Advisory Board. He was also appointed to the Nashville Homelessness Commission.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Freeman was assigned to the following committees:

• Commerce Committee
• House Ethics Committee
• Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
• Insurance Committee

2021-2022

Freeman was assigned to the following committees:

• Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
• Health Committee
• Insurance Committee

2019-2020

Freeman was assigned to the following committees:

• Consumer and Human Resources Committee
• Local Government Committee

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2026

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Incumbent Bob Freeman is running in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Bob Freeman (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

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2024

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Incumbent Bob Freeman won election in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Freeman (D)	100.0	25,690

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,690
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Incumbent Bob Freeman defeated Nick Forster-Benson in the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Freeman	84.2	4,806
		Nick Forster-Benson	15.8	902

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,708
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Freeman in this election.

2022

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Incumbent Bob Freeman won election in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Freeman (D)	100.0	17,352

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,352
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Incumbent Bob Freeman advanced from the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on August 4, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Freeman	100.0	5,866

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,866
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Incumbent Bob Freeman defeated Diane Canada in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Freeman (D)	54.2	22,321
		Diane Canada (R)	45.8	18,891

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,212
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Incumbent Bob Freeman advanced from the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Freeman	100.0	9,592

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,592
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Diane Canada advanced from the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on August 6, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Diane Canada	100.0	5,918

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,918
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Bob Freeman defeated Brent Moody in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Freeman (D)	51.4	18,312
	Submit photo	Brent Moody (R)	48.6	17,300

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 35,612
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Bob Freeman advanced from the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on August 2, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bob Freeman	100.0	7,611

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,611
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Brent Moody defeated Joseph Williams in the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 on August 2, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Brent Moody	55.5	5,469
		Joseph Williams	44.5	4,381

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,850
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Bob Freeman has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Bob Freeman, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Bob Freeman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Bob Freeman did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Bob Freeman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Freeman's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Bob currently serves as Vice President at Freeman Webb. Bob graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a degree in Construction Management and Land Development and went on to earn his master's degree in Sustainability from Lipscomb University's Institute for Sustainable Practice. Bob currently serves on the boards of the Tennessee Environmental Council, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Metro Sustainability Advisory Committee and the U.S. Green Building Council's Tennessee Market Leadership Advisory Board. He was also appointed to the Nashville Homelessness Commission, which brings together advocates, business leaders, government agencies, and the general public to collaborate on solutions for homelessness in Nashville.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Two years ago, I spoke to residents of the 56th House District about the importance of thoughtful and responsible leadership, and putting aside partisan rhetoric for the greater good. During my first term, I passed more bipartisan legislation than any other freshman legislator. As a member of the Health Committee, I am proud to support our healthcare workers, and hospitals, on the frontlines of the COVID pandemic. I am also proud of the work we've done with small business owners, and recently unemployed workers, making sure their government works more efficiently for them during these historic times. We must work together to find common sense solutions to our common challenges, and I believe my legislative records speaks to my approach to l
• I hope to accomplish more bipartisan solutions to the historic challenges ahead. I want to ensure every Tennessean has access to quality healthcare, every child has access to a great education and every community can participate in the economic successes of our state. We need to make strategic infrastructure investments to keep our urban and rural economies moving. In order to accomplish these goals, it is imperative that we work together to find the common ground that connects us, rather that the petty partisanship that aims to divide us.
• Maintaining a healthy state, a healthy economy, and a healthy future for our children is what I'm 100% focused on right now. Our city and state have endured historic challenges this year, from violent storms and tornadoes to a global health pandemic that has impacted all aspects of everyday life. None of these are democrat or republican issues, these are real life issues that effect our families, friends and neighbors. Now more than ever, we need more thoughtful and responsible leadership that always puts the best interest of Tennessee families first.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My top three priorities are to protect the health of all Tennesseans, safely reinvigorate our economy, and ensure a brighter future for our next generation. I was recently appointed by the Republican Speaker to serve on the Health Committee, which plays a critical role in how we care for our urban and rural neighbors. This pandemic has exposed a number of challenges facing our healthcare system, which has already experienced a record number of rural hospital closures. We also have to work to create a business environment that protects the well-being of employees and customers. In the area of education, there is no doubt this fall will be unlike any others experienced in our lifetime. Now, it is more important than ever that every child has access to a quality education, in person or virtually. These are not partisan issues, and we must work together in order to overcome these historic challenges. Now is not the time for petty partisanship, it's time for real leadership.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Bob Freeman campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Tennessee House of Representatives District 56	Won general	$368,089	$263,588
2022	Tennessee House of Representatives District 56	Won general	$279,089	$90,678
2020	Tennessee House of Representatives District 56	Won general	$440,968	N/A**
2018	Tennessee House of Representatives District 56	Won general	$489,607	N/A**
Grand total			$1,577,753	$354,266
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Tennessee

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Tennessee scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Tennessee State Legislature was in session from January 9 to April 25. Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Tennesseans for Student Success Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. Tennessee Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Tennessee State Legislature was in session from January 10 to April 21. Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community. Tennesseans for Student Success Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The Institute for Legislative Analysis Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Tennessee State Legislature was in session from January 11 to April 28. Americans for Prosperity Tennessee Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Tennesseans for Student Success Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. Tennessee Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Tennessee State Legislature was in session from January 12 to May 5. Americans for Prosperity Tennessee Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored based on their votes on the business community. Tennesseans for Student Success Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. Tennessee Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Tennessee State Legislature was in session from January 14 to June 19. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Family Action of Tennessee: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Tennesseans for Student Success (Select year on the side pull-down menu.) Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Tennessee General Assembly was in session January 8 through May 2. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Tennesseans for Student Success House and Senate (select year on the side pull-down menu) Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

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Officeholder

Tennessee House of Representatives District 56

Website

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 2018-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Tennessee House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Cameron Sexton

Majority Leader:William Lamberth

Minority Leader:Karen Camper

Representatives

District 1

John Crawford (R)

District 2

Bud Hulsey (R)

District 3

Timothy Hill (R)

District 4

Renea Jones (R)

District 5

David Hawk (R)

District 6

Tim Hicks (R)

District 7

Rebecca Alexander (R)

District 8

Jerome Moon (R)

District 9

Gary Hicks (R)

District 10

Rick Eldridge (R)

District 11

Jeremy Faison (R)

District 12

Fred Atchley (R)

District 13

Robert Stevens (R)

District 14

Jason Zachary (R)

District 15

Sam McKenzie (D)

District 16

Michele Carringer (R)

District 17

Andrew Farmer (R)

District 18

Elaine Davis (R)

District 19

Dave Wright (R)

District 20

Tom Stinnett (R)

District 21

Lowell Russell (R)

District 22

Dan Howell (R)

District 23

Mark Cochran (R)

District 24

Kevin Raper (R)

District 25

Cameron Sexton (R)

District 26

Greg Martin (R)

District 27

Michele Reneau (R)

District 28

Yusuf Hakeem (D)

District 29

Greg Vital (R)

District 30

Esther Helton (R)

District 31

Ron Travis (R)

District 32

Monty Fritts (R)

District 33

Richard Scarbrough (R)

District 34

Tim Rudd (R)

District 35

William Slater (R)

District 36

Dennis Powers (R)

District 37

Charlie Baum (R)

District 38

Kelly Keisling (R)

District 39

Iris Rudder (R)

District 40

Michael Hale (R)

District 41

Ed Butler (R)

District 42

Ryan Williams (R)

District 43

Paul Sherrell (R)

District 44

William Lamberth (R)

District 45

Johnny Garrett (R)

District 46

Clark Boyd (R)

District 47

Rush Bricken (R)

District 48

Bryan Terry (R)

District 49

Mike Sparks (R)

District 50

Bo Mitchell (D)

District 51

Aftyn Behn (D)

District 52

Justin Jones (D)

District 53

Jason Powell (D)

District 54

Vincent Dixie (D)

District 55

John Clemmons (D)

District 56

Bob Freeman (D)

District 57

Susan Lynn (R)

District 58

Harold Love (D)

District 59

Caleb Hemmer (D)

District 60

Shaundelle Brooks (D)

District 61

Gino Bulso (R)

District 62

Pat Marsh (R)

District 63

Jake McCalmon (R)

District 64

Scott Cepicky (R)

District 65

Lee Reeves (R)

District 66

Sabi Kumar (R)

District 67

Ronnie Glynn (D)

District 68

Aron Maberry (R)

District 69

Jody Barrett (R)

District 70

Clay Doggett (R)

District 71

Kip Capley (R)

District 72

Kirk Haston (R)

District 73

Chris Todd (R)

District 74

Jay Reedy (R)

District 75

Jeff Burkhart (R)

District 76

Tandy Darby (R)

District 77

Rusty Grills (R)

District 78

Mary Littleton (R)

District 79

Brock Martin (R)

District 80

Johnny Shaw (D)

District 81

Debra Moody (R)

District 82

Chris Hurt (R)

District 83

Mark White (R)

District 84

Joe Towns (D)

District 85

Jesse Chism (D)

District 86

Justin Pearson (D)

District 87

Karen Camper (D)

District 88

Larry Miller (D)

District 89

Justin Lafferty (R)

District 90

Gloria Johnson (D)

District 91

Torrey Harris (D)

District 92

Todd Warner (R)

District 93

G.A. Hardaway (D)

District 94

Ron Gant (R)

District 95

Kevin Vaughan (R)

District 96

Gabby Salinas (D)

District 97

John Gillespie (R)

District 98

Antonio Parkinson (D)

District 99

Tom Leatherwood (R)

Republican Party (75)

Democratic Party (24)