Election law changes? Our legislation tracker’s got you. Check it out!

Mary L. Wagner (Tennessee): Difference between revisions

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
No edit summary
(Campaign finance summary section updated by Ellie Mikus via the greenhouse in the database editor)
 
(6 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
<APIWidget where="person.id = '95310'" template="Polinfobox" />
<BPW widget='profile/infobox' person='95310' />
<APIWidget template="ProfileIntro" where="people.id=95310"/>
<APIWidget template="ProfileIntro" where="people.id=95310"/>


Line 8: Line 8:


==Elections==
==Elections==
===2026===
<BPW widget="elections/election-section" race=[148968] candidate_page=true />
<!--INSERT 2026 CAMPAIGN FINANCE HERE-->
====Endorsements====
<APIWidget template="EndorsementsCandidates" where="candidates.id= 398384"/>
===2022===
===2022===
<APIWidget where='races.id=88879' template='ElectionSection' extra_params='{"type":"all", "candidate_page": true}' />
<APIWidget where='races.id=88879' template='ElectionSection' extra_params='{"type":"all", "candidate_page": true}' />
Line 24: Line 31:


==[[Campaign themes]]==
==[[Campaign themes]]==
===2026===
<APIWidget where="candidates.id=398384" order by sortfield" template="CandidateConnection"/>
<BPW widget="elections/campaign-themes" candidate=398384 />
===2022===
===2022===
<APIWidget where='candidates.id="145123" order by sortfield' template="CandidateConnection"/>
<APIWidget where='candidates.id="145123" order by sortfield' template="CandidateConnection"/>


==Campaign finance summary==
<APIWidget where='people.id=95310' template='CampaignFinanceSummary' />
==Appointments==
==Appointments==
===2024===
===2024===
::''See also: [[Tennessee Supreme Court justice vacancy (August 2024)]]
::''See also: [[Tennessee Supreme Court justice vacancy (August 2024)]]
Line 38: Line 53:
==See also==
==See also==
<!--REPLACE SEE ALSO START-->
<!--REPLACE SEE ALSO START-->
{{SCP See Also|State=Tennessee}}
{{SeeAlsoCandidates2026|State=Tennessee}}
<!--REPLACE SEE ALSO END-->
<!--REPLACE SEE ALSO END-->
==External links==
==External links==
<APIWidget template="ExternalLinksPeople" where="people.id=95310"/>
<APIWidget template="ExternalLinksPeople" where="people.id=95310"/>


==Footnotes==
==Footnotes==
Line 48: Line 63:


<!--REPLACE BOTTOM PAGE HNTS START-->
<!--REPLACE BOTTOM PAGE HNTS START-->
{{Tennessee supreme court}}
{{Tennessee Supreme Court}}
{{Tennessee courts}}
{{Tennessee courts}}
{{Judicial elections, 2026}}
{{Tennessee}}
<!--REPLACE BOTTOM PAGE HNTS END-->
<!--REPLACE BOTTOM PAGE HNTS END-->
<APIWidget where="people.id=95310" template="PersonCategories"/>
<APIWidget where="people.id=95310" template="PersonCategories"/>

Latest revision as of 16:26, 8 January 2026

Mary L. Wagner
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Candidate, Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section
Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section
Tenure
2024 - Present
Term ends
2026
Years in position
1
Predecessor: Roger A. Page (Nonpartisan)
Prior offices:
30th Judicial District Circuit Court Division VII
Years in office: 2016 - 2024

Compensation
Base salary
$234,756
Elections and appointments
Last election
August 4, 2022
Next election
August 6, 2026
Appointed
February 1, 2024

Mary L. Wagner is a judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section. She assumed office on September 1, 2024. Her current term ends on September 1, 2026.

Wagner is running for re-election for judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section. She is on the ballot in the retention election on August 6, 2026.

Wagner first became a member of the Tennessee Supreme Court through an appointment. Gov. Bill Lee (R) first appointed her to the court in 2024 to the seat vacated by Roger A. Page. To learn more about this appointment, click here.[1]

Biography

From 2011 until her judicial appointment in the Thirtieth Circuit Court Tennessee, Wagner worked at the firm of Rice, Amundsen & Caperton. She had previously worked at as a teacher at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis (2012–2014); as a lawyer at the firm of Leitner, Williams, Dooley and Napolitan (2010–2011); as a law clerk for Judge J. Steven Stafford (2009–2010); and as an extern at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee.[2]

Elections

2026

See also: Tennessee Supreme Court elections, 2026

Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section

Mary L. Wagner is running for retention to the Tennessee Supreme Court Western Section on August 6, 2026.

Retention Vote
%
Votes
Yes
No
Total Votes

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Shelby County, Tennessee (2022)

General election

General election for 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Division VII

Incumbent Mary L. Wagner defeated Paul Robinson Jr. in the general election for 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Division VII on August 4, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Mary L. Wagner (Nonpartisan)
 
63.5
 
74,298
Paul Robinson Jr. (Nonpartisan)
 
36.5
 
42,661

Total votes: 116,959
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.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Shelby County, Tennessee (2018)

General election

Incumbent Mary L. Wagner defeated Michael G. Floyd in the general election for 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Division VII on August 2, 2018.

General election

General election for 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Division VII

Candidate
%
Votes
Mary L. Wagner (Nonpartisan)
 
55.9
 
74,829
Michael G. Floyd (Nonpartisan)
 
43.9
 
58,773
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
217

Total votes: 133,819
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.

Selection method

For more information about judicial selection processes in each state, click here.

2016

Wagner was one of three candidates submitted by the Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission to Gov. Haslam to fill the vacancy created on the 30th Circuit Court following Judge Fields' retirement at the end of August 2016. Lee Ann Pafford Dobson and David M. Rudolph were also recommended by the commission. Ultimately, Haslem announced Wagner as his selection on October 24, 2016.[2][3]

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

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

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 24,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

Help improve Ballotpedia - send us candidate contact info.


2022

Mary L. Wagner did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.


Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.

Appointments

2024

See also: Tennessee Supreme Court justice vacancy (August 2024)

On February 1, 2024, Governor Bill Lee nominated Mary L. Wagner to serve on the Tennessee Supreme Court. Wagner's nomination was confirmed by the Tennessee House of Representatives and Tennessee State Senate in a joint session on March 11, 2024.[4] Wagner replaces Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger A. Page, who retired on August 31, 2024.[5] Page's replacement will be Governor Lee's (R) third nominee to the five-member supreme court.

In Tennessee, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the governor appoints a replacement justice from a list from a judicial nominating commission. The nominee must be confirmed by both chambers of the state legislature. If filling an interim vacancy, the appointee stands for retention in the next general election at least 30 days after the vacancy occurred. The retained judge serves out the remainder of the unexpired term before again running for retention to serve a full eight-year term.[6][7] Judges are voted upon by the voters of the whole state.[8]

State supreme court judicial selection in Tennessee

See also: Judicial selection in Tennessee

The five justices on the Tennessee Supreme Court are selected through assisted appointment. The governor selects a nominee from a list of recommended candidates from a judicial nominating commission. The nominee must be confirmed by the Tennessee General Assembly. Justices face retention elections at the end of their terms.[6][7][4]

The appointment system was adjusted in 2014 with the passage of a state ballot measure titled Tennessee Judicial Selection, Amendment 2. The measure added the required confirmation by the Tennessee legislature. While Tennessee state law changed in 2014 to eliminate the judicial nominating commission and require legislative approval of the governor’s appointee, Gov. Bill Haslam’s Executive Order No. 54 and Gov. Bill Lee’s subsequent Executive Order No. 87 re-established the judicial nominating commission for appointments. Accordingly, Tennessee’s process is effectively assisted appointment with legislative confirmation.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

  • authorized to practice law in the state;
  • a state resident for five years; and
  • at least 35 years old.[7]

Chief justice

According to the Tennessee Constitution, the justices of the supreme court select the chief justice.[9] The chief justice serves a four-year term.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the governor appoints a replacement justice from a list from a judicial nominating commission. The nominee must be confirmed by both chambers of the state legislature. If filling an interim vacancy, the appointee stands for retention in the next general election at least 30 days after the vacancy occurred. The retained judge serves out the remainder of the unexpired term before again running for retention to serve a full eight-year term.[6][7] Judges are voted upon by the voters of the whole state.[8]

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.


See also


External links

Footnotes