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Brandon Thomas

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Brandon Thomas
Image of Brandon Thomas

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Middle Tennessee State University, 2012

Personal
Birthplace
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Religion
Baptist
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

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Personal Facebook

Brandon Thomas (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Tennessee House of Representatives to represent District 49. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Thomas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Brandon Thomas was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University in May 2012.[1]

Elections

2020

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 49

Incumbent Mike Sparks defeated Brandon Thomas in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 49 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mike Sparks
Mike Sparks (R)
 
53.9
 
15,375
Image of Brandon Thomas
Brandon Thomas (D) Candidate Connection
 
46.1
 
13,167

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 28,542
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 49

Brandon Thomas advanced from the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 49 on August 6, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Brandon Thomas
Brandon Thomas Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
2,968

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,968
Candidate Connection = 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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 49

Incumbent Mike Sparks advanced from the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 49 on August 6, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mike Sparks
Mike Sparks
 
100.0
 
3,653

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,653
Candidate Connection = 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.

2016

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Tennessee House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 4, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 7, 2016.

Incumbent Mike Sparks defeated Brandon Thomas in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 49 general election.[2][3]

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 49 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Mike Sparks Incumbent 61.13% 13,531
     Democratic Brandon Thomas 38.87% 8,604
Total Votes 22,135
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State


Brandon Thomas ran unopposed in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 49 Democratic primary.[4][5]

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 49 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Brandon Thomas  (unopposed)


Incumbent Mike Sparks defeated Aaron Holladay in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 49 Republican primary.[4][5]

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 49 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Mike Sparks Incumbent 78.01% 1,880
     Republican Aaron Holladay 21.99% 530
Total Votes 2,410

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

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

Expand all | Collapse all

Brandon Thomas is running to represent State House District 49 because he wants to model compassion for his son, and ensure that the needs of everyday Tennesseans are no longer placed on the back burner. Brandon has worked in retail customer service, non-profit work, and on campaigns. Through this work, he has honed the skills of building consensus, and working with people from many different backgrounds, while still not being afraid to stand up for what's right and speak truth to power. Brandon believes we need to expand Medicaid in the state of Tennessee. We have the ability to access federal money that's already been set aside for this purpose, which would help provide healthcare access to over 700,000 of our neighbors and stop the closure of even more rural hospitals. We also need to institute a worker's bill of rights by introducing a slate of bills related to making sure all Tennesseans have access to a living wage, paid family leave, and a proper work/life balance. And we need to reform our criminal justice system, by ending cash bail and making sure that justice is restorative, not punitive.
  • I was born and raised in Rutherford County and understand the struggles faced by everyday Tennesseans.
  • I have experience with building consensus, and working with people from many different backgrounds, while still not being afraid to stand up for what's right and speak truth to power.
  • I became an advocate for quality affordable healthcare at the age of 19 while helping to take care of my grandmother and seeing how lucky we were to have access to Medicare.
I'm passionate about making sure that the actual problems faced by everyday Tennesseans are being addressed by our legislature. My family, friends, and neighbors are struggling with low wages, lack of access to healthcare, no paid family leave, the shrinking capacity of our local landfill as we accept trash from other cities...the list goes on and on. Meanwhile, our legislature is focused on divisive bills that solve imaginary problems, such as bills attacking the LGBTQ community, bans on bans on plastic bags, and recognizing CNN as "fake news."
I believe that it's incredibly important for legislators to listen to their constituents, and make sure they stay informed about what's going on in their district. I believe it's the responsibility of a legislator to stay involved in their community, to make sure people know that they're there, and ready to listen.

I also think it's important that a legislator find the right balance between finding common ground, and knowing when it's time to dig in their heels. While you always have to be ready to listen to other points of view, legislators also have a responsibility to stand up for what's right, to speak truth to power and protect their most vulnerable constituents.
The earliest historical event in my lifetime that I remember truly understanding the gravity of was the 2000 presidential election. I had a map from school where I was supposed to color each state red or blue based on who won, and I remember when there were no results for Florida by bedtime, my mom asked if I wanted to stay up and keep watching. I said yes, and she let me stay up late because I was so interested in what was happening. I stayed up so late that she let me stay home from school the next day. I had already had a passing interest in politics, but that election is what really cemented my passion for it.
Just like everyone else with a toddler, the last song to be stuck in my head was Baby Shark. Our son loves to make us spin around in circles with him while we listen to it.
Up until a few years ago, I was living paycheck to paycheck and dealing with debt, like many Tennesseans. Right before our son was born in 2018, my husband and I really cracked down and got serious about reducing our debt. We were fortunate enough to be able to do that, and we've gotten to a stable place financially. But I still haven't forgotten what it was like to work a retail job, with pay that barely covered our bills, no consistent schedule, and little time off. I'm committed to fighting for my neighbors who are still in that position.
The main difference I see is that the House can be like the Wild West sometimes. They take up and debate all kinds of bills, whereas the Senate is a bit more deliberative in the bills they choose to take up. Bills in the House are sometimes more like a rough draft, and the issue really gets hashed out and debated in subcommittees, committees, and on the House floor. By the time bills are moving in the Senate, they're much more set in stone. I'm excited by the prospect of being a part of the very beginning of the legislative process, and being able to bring up the concerns and viewpoints of my constituents at the outset.
Yes, but this doesn't have to be formal experience, such as having held elected office. I believe it's beneficial for a legislator to be fluent in the language of the issues facing their district, and to understand the basics of the process before being elected. Experience in politics or government, to me, can be as simple as attending meetings of your county commission or city council, reading/watching the news, and visiting the Capitol to lobby your legislator. While I do currently hold elected office, as the TNDP state executive committeeman for Senate District 13, I believe I've learned just as much to prepare e for this job by keeping up with local politics and staying involved in my community.
Yes, absolutely. In order to make sure that legislation addressing the issues facing your constituents is able to pass, you have to be able to work with other legislators. Especially as a Democrat in Tennessee, I know I'll need to build consensus and find common ground with other legislators in order to get things done. I won't be able to rely on passing legislation simply by having other legislators in my party vote for it - I plan to build relationships with other legislators, person to person, to solve the real problems facing everyday Tennesseans.

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.

2016

Thomas' campaign website highlighted the following issues:[6]

Healthcare

  • Excerpt: "Brandon Thomas believes that we need to pass Insure Tennessee."

Equality and justice

  • Excerpt: "Brandon believes that it is time for our state to promote equality and justice for all Tennesseans. He believes that we need to focus more on rehabilitation than incarceration and that it is time we end the prison industrial complex in our state."

Family friendly economy

  • Excerpt: "Brandon Thomas believes that we need to create a family friendly economy. We need to lift Tennesseans out of poverty by raise the minimum wage, from its current rate of $7.25 an hour, in our state."

LGBT issues

  • Excerpt: "Brandon Thomas believes that it is imperative that the state government passes an inclusive non-discrimination policy that protects LGBT people from employment and housing discrimination."

See also

2020 Elections

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External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 6, 2020
  2. ↑ The New York Times, "Election 2016," accessed November 11, 2016
  3. ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2016 general election results - Tennessee House of Representatives," accessed January 19, 2017
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tennessee Secretary of State, "Candidate Petitions Filed as of April 8, 2016 Noon Qualifying Deadline," accessed April 11, 2016
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tennessee Secretary of State, "August 4, 2016 Unofficial Election Results," accessed August 4, 2016
  6. ↑ Vote Brandon Thomas, "Issues," accessed July 8, 2016


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