Former Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell has settled a suit filed over campaign finances in her 2022 run for Congress. Tennessee Lookout reports that Harwell and the Government of the People PAC reached a settlement with the Federal Election Commission for a $16,000 civil penalty. The group alleged that Harwell violated campaign finance rules regarding soft money during her campaign for the 5th District congressional race. Harwell claimed at the time that a transfer of funds from her state political action committee to a super PAC that supported her bid was vetted by attorneys working for her campaign. According to the news source, because Harwell did not try to hide the transfer she was not charged for violating the law.

The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) on Thursday announced the hiring of Brian Córdova as its new executive director. Córdova is joining the TNDP after almost a decade of working in Tennessee politics. He served as political director for the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses in 2022 and has worked on or consulted on races across Tennessee and around the country, including in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Hawaii. Clarksville Online has more.

A bipartisan group seeking to draw more moderate Tennessee Republican and Democrats into voting in state primary contests plans to roll out its first ad next week during the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Tennessee Journal reports. Organizers of the group — known as The Best of Tennessee — say that only about 22% of voters have participated in party primaries in recent years. According to Tennessee Lookout, the group was founded by Nashville lawyer Chloe Akers.

The chair of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, Hank Fincher, told the Tennessee Journal in a text message that the registry's referral of a collusion complaint to the state attorney general is "very serious." The complaint states the treasurer of the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC, which has published ads attacking incumbent Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, is also the treasurer for U.S. Rep. Diane Harshbarger, a Kingsport Republican. The chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger said such referrals "happen all the time," but Fincher maintained that referrals reflect "probable cause" that violations occurred.

Harold Collins, chief administrative officer for Shelby County Government, has announced that he plans to run for Shelby County mayor in 2026. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that Collins was celebrating his recent graduation from Jackson State University with a master's degree in public policy “when he made the surprise announcement before supporters, family and friends.” Collins previously served as a Memphis city council member, deputy director of the Shelby County Division of Corrections and head of the Shelby County Office of Reentry. He ran unsuccessfully for Memphis mayor in 2015. Current Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris is ineligible for reelection.

Gov. Bill Lee announced today that he will back three state House candidates who are aligned with him on the issue of school vouchers, Tennessee Journal reports. The beneficiaries of his support are: Jason Emert in District 20 in Blount County, Lee Reeves in District 65 in Williamson County and Aron Maberry in District 68 in Montgomery County. The seats are being vacated respectively by Republican Reps. Bryan Richey of Maryville, Sam Whitson of Franklin and Curtis Johnson of Clarksville.

Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, filed a collusion complaint with the Registry of Election Finance against the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC. The Registry has now referred the complaint to the Tennessee Attorney General's Office for investigation. The Tennessee Journal reports that the complaint states the treasurer of the PAC, which has published ads attacking incumbent Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, is also the treasurer for U.S. Rep. Diane Harshbarger, a Kingsport Republican. Harshbarger's son, Bobby, is challenging Lundberg for the District 4 seat.

A political action committee’s barrage of text message attacks on incumbent state Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, has spurred a formal complaint by Senate Republican Caucus Chair Ken Yager of Kingston, the Tennessee Journal reports. The messages aren’t just “dirty” politics, Yager argues, but possible “collusion” that runs afoul of Tennessee campaign finance restrictions. Lundberg’s opponent in the Republican primary for Senate District 4 is pharmacist Bobby Harshbarger, son of Republican U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger of Kingsport.

The Davidson County Election Commission met Monday to set the rules for two ballot challenges scheduled to be considered at a May 2 special hearing. Democratic State Rep. Justin Jones' Republican opponent Laura Nelson is challenging his qualification to be on the ballot after he turned in 26 petition signatures, of which 25 (the legal minimum) were deemed valid. In addition, state Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, is challenging the qualification of his Republican opponent, Metro Councilmember Jennifer Frensley Webb. Both sides in the cases will be allowed to submit supporting documentation ahead of time and present to the commission at the hearing. The Nashville Banner has more on this story.

The Tennessee Republican Party has finalized the candidates for the Aug. 1 primary. Of those who sought to run for various positions, the party removed 14 and restored eight after those individuals paid their party dues. Among those blocked from running were three candidates for Congress, two for the state Senate and nine for the state House, Tennessee Journal reports. Party leaders said these individuals failed to meet “bona fide” standards, which require Republican candidates to have voted in at least three of the last four statewide GOP primaries. With that move, U.S. Reps. Mark Green and David Kustoff no longer face primary opponents, while Rep. Scott DesJarlais will face two opponents rather than three. The Associated Press has more specifics.