'Walking Tall' daughter throws stick in the ring for state house

Daughter of legendary McNairy County sheriff declares for state house

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

Dwana Pusser-Garrison, daughter of the late McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser, has picked up qualifying papers and will run for the seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives being vacated by State Rep. Randy Rinks (D-Savannah). Pusser-Garrison will be running as a Democrat.

For the unfamiliar, Pusser-Garrison's father Buford was the basis of the 1973 cult classic film "Walking Tall." The drive-in staple was loosely based on the life of her father and starred the B-movie stalwart Joe Don Baker. In the movie, the legend of Pusser was created when he fought all his adversaries with a big stick.

In the Pussers' hometown of Adamsville, a Buford Pusser Museum has been set up in the home he occupied up until his death in a 1974 car crash. The Pusser family has long suspected foul play was involved in his death. There is an annual celebration called the Buford Pusser Festival in Adamsville each May.

Pusser-Garrison is a former restaurateur and will likely face Jerry Hunt and Stan Wheeler in in the Democratic primary. Asked this morning about the race to replace him, Rinks said he thought highly of all the potential candidates and would not be making an endorsement in the primary.