Tennessee House of Representatives District 49

Tennessee House of Representatives District 49 is represented by Mike Sparks (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Tennessee state representatives represented an average of 69,868 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 64,398 residents.

About the chamber

Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Tennessee legislators assume office on the day they are elected in the general election.^[1]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

To be eligible to serve in the Tennessee State Senate, a candidate must:^[2]

Be a U.S. citizen
Be at least 21 years old before the general election
Have resided in Tennessee for at least 3 years before the general election
Have resided in the county or district to be represented for at least 1 year, immediately preceding the election
Be a qualified voter in the county or district to be represented

The following groups of people are ineligible to run for office:^[2]

Those who have been convicted of offering or giving a bribe, or of larceny, or any other offense declared infamous by law, unless restored to citizenship in the mode pointed out by law;
Those against whom there is a judgment unpaid for any moneys received by them, in any official capacity, due to the United States, to this state, or any county thereof;
Those who are defaulters to the treasury at the time of the election (the election of any such person shall be void);
Soldiers, seamen, marines, or airmen in the regular army or navy or air force of the United States; and
Members of congress, and persons holding any office of profit or trust under any foreign power, other state of the union, or under the United States.

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024^[3]
Salary	Per diem
$28,405.96/year	$326.47/day. Legislators living within 50 miles of the Capitol receive a reduced amount of $47 per day.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Tennessee General Assembly, there are two ways a vacancy can be filled. When twelve months or more remain before the next general election, a special election must be held within the allowable time frame set by law. If fewer than twelve months remain before the next general election, members of the legislative body in the county where the vacancy occurred must vote on a replacement.^[4]

See sources: Tennessee Const. Art. 2, Sec. 15

District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in Tennessee after the 2020 census

On November 22, 2023, the Davidson County Chancery Court struck down the state Senate map, declaring it unconstitutional. The court ordered the state to create a new state Senate map by January 31, 2024.^[5] On April 13, 2022, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed a ruling by the Davidson County Chancery Court on April 6, blocking the same state Senate map. Gov. Lee signed the state's legislative districts into law on February 6, 2022.^[6]

On January 18, 2022, the Senate Judiciary Committee recommended state legislative proposals for consideration by the full Senate in a 7-2 vote along party lines, with all Republicans supporting the proposals and all Democrats opposing them.^[7] The Senate approved proposals for congressional and Senate maps in a 26-5 party-line vote on January 20, 2022.^[8] On January 26, 2022, the Tennessee Senate approved the state House plan.^[9] These maps took effect for Tennessee's 2022 legislative elections.

On December 14, 2021, the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on Redistricting released five state Senate plans and four congressional plans submitted by the public.^[10] The Tennessee House Select Committee on Redistricting voted to approve a proposal for House districts, HB 1035, on December 17, 2021.^[11] The ad-hoc Senate committee released a state Senate plan on January 13.^[12]

How does redistricting in Tennessee work? In Tennessee, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the state legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.^[13]

The Tennessee Constitution requires that state Senate districts "preserve counties whole where possible." State statutes mandate that no more than 30 counties may be split across districts. Furthermore, state law requires that state legislative districts be contiguous. There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.^[13]

Tennessee House of Representatives District 49
until November 7, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Tennessee House of Representatives District 49
starting November 8, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 49

Incumbent Mike Sparks defeated Luis Mata in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 49 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mike Sparks (R)	57.2	15,361
	Luis Mata (D)	42.8	11,492

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,853
= 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 49

Luis Mata advanced from the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 49 on August 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Luis Mata	100.0	1,153

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,153
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Luka Howard (D)

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 1, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Sparks	100.0	1,595

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,595
= 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.