David Byrd (Tennessee)
David Byrd (Republican Party) was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing District 71. He assumed office on November 4, 2014. He left office on November 8, 2022.
Byrd (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Tennessee House of Representatives to represent District 71. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Committee assignments
2021-2022
Byrd was assigned to the following committees:
2019-2020
Byrd was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Tennessee committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Education Instruction and Programs, Vice chair |
| • Finance, Ways, and Means |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Byrd served on the following committees:
| Tennessee committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| • Education Instruction and Programs |
Sponsored legislation
Elections
2022
David Byrd did not file to run for re-election.
2020
See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 71
Incumbent David Byrd won election in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 71 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Byrd (R) | 100.0 | 21,427 |
| Total votes: 21,427 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Christi Rice (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 71
Incumbent David Byrd defeated Austin Carroll and Garry Welch in the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 71 on August 6, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Byrd | 59.9 | 5,286 |
| Austin Carroll | 21.1 | 1,858 | ||
| Garry Welch | 19.0 | 1,678 | ||
| Total votes: 8,822 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2018
See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2018
General election
General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 71
Incumbent David Byrd defeated Frankie Floied in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 71 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Byrd (R) | 77.8 | 14,257 |
 | Frankie Floied (D) | 22.2 | 4,079 | |
| Total votes: 18,336 | |||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 71
Frankie Floied advanced from the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 71 on August 2, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Frankie Floied | 100.0 | 1,999 |
| Total votes: 1,999 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 71
Incumbent David Byrd advanced from the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 71 on August 2, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Byrd | 100.0 | 10,416 |
| Total votes: 10,416 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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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 David Byrd ran unopposed in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 71 general election.[1][2]
| Tennessee House of Representatives, District 71 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican |  David Byrd Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Tennessee Secretary of State | ||
Incumbent David Byrd ran unopposed in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 71 Republican primary.[3][4]
| Tennessee House of Representatives, District 71 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | David Byrd Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2014
Elections for 99 seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 7, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 3, 2014. Incumbent Vance Dennis was defeated by David Byrd in the Republican primary. Byrd was unopposed in the general election.[5][6]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
David Byrd |
53.3% | 5,786 |
| Vance Dennis Incumbent | 46.7% | 5,078 |
| Total Votes | 10,864 | |
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
David Byrd did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
Byrd's campaign website highlighted the following issues:[7]
Common Core Standards
- Excerpt: "Curriculum standards should be adopted by state and local districts and not from Washington, D.C. These standards were never tested or piloted and were never approved by Congress, State Legislators, or Local Boards of Education."
State Testing
- Excerpt: "Local Boards of Education should decide on what subjects and grades need to be tested. Our students are being tested to death, and teachers are so frustrated because all they have time to do is teach to the test and fill out endless paperwork."
GED Inequity
- Excerpt: "If a GED is supposed to be equivalent to a high school diploma and is recognized by colleges and business as such, why does its completion not count toward our graduation rates?"
Graduation Rate Fairness
- Excerpt: "We are mandated to attend to students with Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome and other severe handicaps. These students do not receive a regular high school diploma. Yet, their failure to achieve this diploma is counted as if they were enrolled but did not graduate. "
Job Creation
- Excerpt: "District 71 is desperate for a State Representative who will make job creation a top priority!"
Campaign finance summary
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.
Scorecards
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 scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Tennessee General Assembly in 2022.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Tennessee General Assembly in 2021.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Tennessee General Assembly in 2020.
- Club for Growth Foundation — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- Family Action of Tennessee — 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 — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Tennessee General Assembly in 2019.
- Club for Growth Foundation — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
- 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.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Tennessee General Assembly in 2018.
- Family Action of Tennessee — Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to small business issues.
- Tennesseans for Student Success — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.
- Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry — Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.
- Tennessee Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Tennessee General Assembly in 2017.
- Family Action of Tennessee — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Tennesseans for Student Success — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.
- Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry — Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.
- Tennessee Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes related to conservation and environmental issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Tennessee General Assembly in 2016.
- Americans for Prosperity - Tennessee — Legislators are scored on their votes on fiscal legislation.
- Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce — Legislators are scored by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce on "issues in the chamber’s four key policy baskets: Business-friendly environment, workforce development, quality of life and regional efforts to encourage economic prosperity."
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Tennessee Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes related to conservation and environmental issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the Tennessee General Assembly in 2015.
- Americans for Prosperity - Tennessee — Legislators are scored on their votes on fiscal legislation.
- Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce — Legislators are scored by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce on "issues in the chamber’s four key policy baskets: Business-friendly environment, workforce development, quality of life and regional efforts to encourage economic prosperity."
- Tennessee Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes related to conservation and environmental issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Noteworthy events
|
|---|
| Coronavirus pandemic |
| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.
|
On December 6, 2020, Byrd was hospitalized and diagnosed with COVID-19.[8]
Resignation as subcommittee chair following sexual misconduct allegations (2019)
In March 2019, Byrd stepped down from his position as chairman of the state House Education Administration Subcommittee at the request of House Speaker Glen Casada (R).[9] The move stemmed from sexual misconduct allegations levied against Byrd the previous year.
On March 27, 2018, House Speaker Beth Harwell called for the resignation of Rep. David Byrd (R) after three women accused him of sexual misconduct when he was their high school basketball coach at Wayne County High School over 30 years ago. Lt. Gov. and Senate Speaker Randy McNally (R) also called on Byrd to resign.[10][11] Byrd released the following statements:
- "I have done nothing wrong or inappropriate during my term as state representative for the 71st District, which I proudly serve."[12]
- "I do not condone sexually inappropriate behavior and hope that my behavior over the last 30 years bears that out. I ran for office, not for opportunity for myself but for the opportunity to help others and provide a service to this district. I understand that my stances on some issues in the House are controversial and I knew that I would have opponents who would seek to embellish my character."[13]
See also
2020 Elections
External links
|
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ The New York Times, "Election 2016," accessed November 11, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "2016 general election results - Tennessee House of Representatives," accessed January 19, 2017
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Candidate Petitions Filed as of April 8, 2016 Noon Qualifying Deadline," accessed April 11, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "August 4, 2016 Unofficial Election Results," accessed August 4, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "August 7, 2014 Election Results," accessed September 11, 2014
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Petitions Filed for State Senate and State House of Representatives," accessed April 5, 2014
- ↑ Coach David Byrd, "Education," accessed July 22, 2014
- ↑ Wate, "Rep. David Byrd hospitalized with COVID-19," December 7, 2020
- ↑ Governing, "Legislator Accused of Sexual Misconduct Resigns as Education Subcommittee Chairman," March 29, 2019
- ↑ WSMV, "3 former players accuse Rep. David Byrd of sexual misconduct while they were teens," March 27, 2018
- ↑ The Tennessean, "Harwell calls for Rep. David Byrd to resign ahead of report alleging sexual misconduct," March 27, 2018
- ↑ The Daily Herald, "House GOP majority leader does not think Rep. David Byrd should resign," April 3, 2018
- ↑ The Tennessean, "Rep. David Byrd: Not resigning, says House speaker turned her back on him," March 28, 2018
