Jack Johnson chosen to be Senate speaker as Republicans shuffle leadership

Tennessee senators chose new Republican leadership today in a tense caucus meeting, elevating Sens. Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) as senate speaker, Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) as majority leader and Becky Massey (R-Knoxville) as caucus chair. Despite suffering a nationwide drubbing, the Tennessee GOP held all its senate seats, maintaining a supermajority and setting up Johnson as the chamber’s next speaker and Tennessee’s lieutenant governor. Johnson will succeed retiring East Tennessee senator Randy McNally who briefly addressed his party’s senate caucus after contested officer elections. 

“ What hurt us this time, certainly the economy and the war were probably the most pressing issues. We saw a decrease in the amount of Republican turnout, increase in Democrat turnout, and a lot of that was where it did the national issues, not statewide issues.,” McNally told his colleagues. “ As long as we can stay together, we can remain as a supermajority, and that's my wish. Any way that I can help in doing that, I'll be there to do it.”