John Gillespie of Shelby County will run in the Republican primary for the House District 97 seat being vacated by Rep. Jim Coley, the Daily Memphian reports. He will face Brandon Weise. A native of Memphis, Gillespie works as a grant coordinator for Trezevant Episcopal Home and recently received Coley's endorsement. Democrats also likely will have a contested primary with Allan Creasy and Gabby Salinas announcing for the seat.

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett last week certified the names for the statewide ballot for March 3, otherwise known as Super Tuesday when 14 states conduct presidential primaries. Three Republican and 16 Democratic contenders will be on the ballot in Tennessee. The Daily Memphian has the list of candidates who qualified. Voters participating in the Republican primary will select their preferred presidential candidate as well as delegates to the summer national convention. Democratic primary voters will cast their ballots for presidential contenders only, as convention delegates are chosen by an internal party method.

Gabby Salinas, a Memphis Democrat who nearly defeated Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey in 2018, is eyeing the state legislature again, the Nashville Post reports. Salinas has registered to run in the Democratic primary in House District 97, currently represented by Bartlett Republican Jim Coley, who is retiring. Allan Creasy, a Democrat who ran against Coley in 2018, also has indicated he will run for the post again.

Gov. Bill Lee told reporters Thursday that his administration is undecided on whether to accept President Donald Trump’s offer to let states and local governments refuse to accept refugees, the Times Free Press reports. The state legislature sued the federal government in 2017 over a refugee resettlement program they say forces states to pay for resettlement. Just last week, a federal appeals court refused to hear that lawsuit. In 2016, Former Gov. Bill Haslam declined to sign a resolution demanding the lawsuit and Attorney General Herbert Slatery declined to file it for legislators. Gov. Lee says his team will address the decision once a timeline is set.

Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada has started a new business, Right Way Consulting, providing fundraising services for Republican lawmakers, the Tennessean reports. Casada resigned from his leadership post in August after sexually explicit text messages to and from his chief of staff came to light.

Diana Onyejiaka, a Nashville-based consultant and professor, has joined the Democratic field seeking to succeed Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, the Nashville Post reports. Onyejiaka graduated from Southern University Law Center — though she is not a practicing attorney — and runs DC Consult International, which focuses on international business and government relations. Onyejiaka also has taught law and government as an adjunct professor at Tennessee State University and Middle Tennessee State University and has worked as a mediator. She joins Nashville attorney James Mackler, who entered the Democratic primary back in January, and Memphis environmental activist Marquita Bradshaw, who announced earlier this month she is running.

Belmont University will host the final 2020 presidential debate on Oct. 22, The Tennessean reported today. The Commission on Presidential Debates selected Belmont from a pool of six finalists. Belmont previously hosted a presidential debate in 2008, when U.S. Sen. John McCain and former President Barack Obama met in a town hall format. The university was selected as an alternate for a presidential debate in 2016. The announcement was celebrated by a bipartisan slate of local officials, including Nashville Mayor John Cooper, Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper.

Memphis doctor George Flinn filed paperwork Wednesday to enter the Republican U.S. Senate primary, the Nashville Post reports. Flinn has run several campaigns in recent years. Most recently he lost a 2018 primary challenge to U.S. Rep. David Kustoff. Flinn made his fortune from a radiology practice and ownership of broadcast stations. He joins Nashville surgeon Manny Sethi and former Ambassador Bill Hagerty in the race to replace retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander.

Marquita Bradshaw, a Memphis environmentalist and activist with ties to national labor groups, is entering the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Lamar Alexander, the Nashville Post reports. Bradshaw has worked with the Tennessee chapter of the Sierra Club, the police accountability group Memphis United, the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, the American Federation of Government Employees and the AFL-CIO. Politics runs in her family: her uncle is state Rep. John DeBerry, D-Memphis, and her mother has been fighting for environmental justice for decades. She joins Nashville attorney James Mackler in seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 election.

Bill Hagerty, the former U.S. Ambassador to Japan and former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic Development, officially entered the Republican primary for U.S. Senate today, the Nashville Business Journal reports. Hagerty stepped down as ambassador in July amid widespread speculation he would seek the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander. He joins Vanderbilt surgeon Manny Sethi in the Republican primary. Nashville attorney James Mackler is the lone Democrat to announce a run to date.