The Tennessee Republican Party in a 33-22 vote has decided to charge candidates seeking to represent the GOP on the ballot, the Nashville Post reports on the original story from the Tennessee Journal. Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate will be charged $5,000 for the privilege of running, candidates for U.S. House will pay $2,500, candidates for state Senate will pay $1,000, candidates for state House will pay $500, partisan judicial candidates will pay $500, candidates for countywide positions will pay $100 and county commission and constable candidates will pay $25. The measure was passed to cut down on unserious candidates and to bring in more money for the state party. 

Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner has formed an exploratory committee to seek the seat of Memphis mayor in 2023, the Commercial Appeal reports. “I’m exploring the opportunity. I’ve seen that it’s an open seat in 2023 and after that exploratory effort I’ll announce what my intentions are,” Turner said yesterday. Turner is a partner in the law firm of Bruce & Turner PLLC. He was first elected to the county commission in 2014 and reelected in 2018. His term ends in 2022. Turner is also president of the Memphis branch of the NAACP, and president and CEO of Memphis Greenspace, the nonprofit that purchased a number of public parks to remove confederate monuments. He is a former Shelby County Democratic Party chairman and was a member of the TBA’s Leadership Law class of 2008.

Former U.S. Senator Bob Corker told an online meeting of the Memphis Rotary Club yesterday that he is about 45 days away from figuring out what his “next cause” will be, the Daily Memphian reports. Corker, who left the Senate after two terms at the end of 2018, said he does not miss the Senate or the divisiveness. Since leaving office, he has focused on several business ventures, including a development equity company and global investment banking firm. “I want to get my business platform in place. I want to get it set up for the future. I’m just maybe 45 days away from that. Then I’m going to figure out what the next cause is,” he told the group.

Former Knox County Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones is running to retake his old post, Knox News reports. Jones will be pitted against current Sheriff Tom Spangler in the Republican primary, scheduled for May 3, 2022. Jones filled the position from 2010 until 2018, when he was term-limited.

The Tennessee Democratic Party on Saturday elected Hendrell Remus as the new party chair, the Nashville Post reports. Remus, vice chair of the Tennessee Young Democrats, is the first Black leader of the organization according to the group. An assistant emergency operations officer at Tennessee State University, Remus has previously run, unsuccessfully, for local and state offices in Memphis. He takes over from Mary Mancini. The House and Senate Democratic caucuses supported Wade Munday for the chairmanship. Munday, a former state Senate candidate, finished second in the voting. A few weeks ago, state Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, dropped out of the race according to Tennessee Lookout. Two other candidates — Kate Craig and Robin Kimbrough Hayes — dropped out on Saturday after the first round.

Tennessee Republican Party Chair Scott Golden has announced he will seek a third term as the state GOP’s leader, the Nashville Post reports. Golden was first elected to the job in 2016 after working as an aide to former Reps. Stephen Fincher and Marsha Blackburn (now a U.S. senator from the state). Golden said the party will spend much of 2021 preparing for redistricting and the 2022 election. His counterpart at the Tennessee Democratic Party, Mary Mancini, announced over the weekend that she would not seek re-election after an election cycle in which Republicans easily won statewide races for U.S. Senate and president and lost only one seat in the General Assembly.

Four days after Tennessee Democrats made slight progress in statehouse races, Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Mary Mancini announced she will not seek re-election in 2021. Several individuals have expressed interest in the post, including Washington County Party Chair Kate Craig and Rep. London Lamar, D-Memphis. Mancini’s decision came a day after House Democratic Caucus Chair and Nashville Rep. Mike Stewart said he does not plan to again seek that leadership position. Two Nashville Democrats, Reps. Vincent Dixie and John Ray Clemmons, have announced they will vie for the position, while another, Rep. Bo Mitchell, is expected to consider a run. Tennessee Lookout reviews both of these developments. The Nashville Post also has an update.

U.S. Senate Democrats are wading into the open Tennessee Senate race, backing Nashville attorney James Mackler over other announced Democrats, the Nashville Post reports. The endorsement from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee favors Mackler over Marquita Bradshaw, a Memphis environmentalist, and Diana Onyejiaka, a Nashville-based consultant and professor. All three are seeking the Democratic nomination to vie for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander.

Keeda Haynes, a former Nashville public defender who went to law school after a five-year prison sentence, is the latest Democrat to announce a challenge to U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, the Nashville Scene reports. Haynes left the public defender’s office, where she had worked since 2013, in December and is now a legal adviser for Free Hearts, a nonprofit organization that provides support to families affected by incarceration. In addition to Haynes, Cooper is facing local activist Justin Jones in the primary, as well as Meredith Mattlin, a Democratic socialist, and Joshua Rawlings, formerly a Republican. Cooper is seeking re-election to a 16th term in Congress. Learn more about Haynes’ journey in this recent podcast from the TBA.

Former Savannah city manager Garry Welch has announced his bid for the GOP nomination to represent House District 71, TNJ: On the Hill reports. That is the seat currently held by Rep. David Byrd, R-Waynesboro, who recently told colleagues he would not seek reelection amid allegations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls in the 1980’s. Welch, who retired in 2018 after serving 12 years as city manager, says he is well qualified to represent the district, which covers all of Hardin, Lewis and Wayne counties and part of Lawrence County.