Tennessee Republican Scandals | Updated List of GOP Scandals in TN
![](/img/icons/toc12.png)
Tennessee Republican U.S. Congress Member & Candidate Scandals
-
11/15/12
Had extramarital affairs with one of his OBGYN patients, three coworkers and a pharmaceutical drug representative over a multiyear period11/15/12
Helped facilitate two abortions for his ex-wife while also hypocritically portraying himself as a "consistent support of pro-life values" who repeatedly voted to pass anti-abortion legislationAccording to his own sworn testimony in his divorce trial
10/10/12
Urged a woman he was having an affair with who also happened to be his OBGYN patient to get an abortion while having had expressed ardently anti-choice views in publicAccording to a phone call transcript obtained by The Huffington Post -
2/27/23
Lied about being a "former member of law enforcement" who had a specialization in "international sex crimes" when in fact he was a volunteer reserve deputy who had zero involvement in sex trafficking cases and only lasted two years because he had made no progress in his field training and rarely showed up to required meetingsAccording to an investigative report by NewsChannel 5 in Nashville
Lied about earning a second bachelors degree in economics from Middle Tennessee State while also publicly asserting "I'm an economist" on numerous occasionsAccording to an investigative report by NewsChannel 5 in Nashville
Tennessee Republican Judge Scandals
-
Jonathan YoungState Judge [R-TN]
7/31/22
Had sex with a married woman who was actively involved in a case in his courtroom and didn't recuse himself or disclose his behaviorAccording to a ruling by the TN board of Judicial Conduct that suspended Young for the remainder of his term
Tennessee Republican State Legislator Scandals
-
Glen CasadaFmr. House Speaker [R-TN]
8/23/22
Created a fictitious consulting company along with state rep. Robin Smith and his chief of staff where they charged taxpayers $51,947 for official mailing services and hid his involvement in the scheme by submitting fake invoices to state officials and also accepted bribes from his chief of staff in exchange for his help in securing government approval for the fake consulting company to operate as an official state vendorAccording to charging documents filed in federal court
-
8/11/23
Illegally transferred $91,000 from his political campaign and a nonprofit organization to an authorized federal campaign committee supporting his candidacy using money not subject to reporting regulations to help his 2016 bid for US Congress and then hid the transactions from the FECAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials
-
11/05/20
Prescribed opioids to several family members and his romantic partner in violation of rules prohibiting doctors from treating and prescribing medication to people they are close withAccording to a ruling placing his medical license on probation by the TN Board of Medical Examiners
-
Paul StanleyFmr. State Senator [R-TN]
8/03/09
Engaged in an extramarital affair with his 22-year-old intern after having hypocritically built a public persona as a pious man who often cited his firm belief in abstinence as reasons to oppose gay rights and funding for women's health servicesAccording to a report by The Columbus Dispatch
-
Keith WestmorelandFmr. State Representative [R-TN]
6/18/02
According to charging documents filed by local police
-
Mark LovellFmr. State Representative [R-TN]
2/14/17
Grabbed a legislative staff's breasts and buttocks and physically prevented her from walking away from him and also inappropriately touched a second woman while visibly drunk -- drinking rum and colas to excess is apparently a common occurrence for him -- after attending five events hosted by lobbyists and businesses with free alcohol and food while he was married with three childrenAccording to an investigation conducted by the state house Ethics Committee
-
Scotty CampbellFmr. State Representative [R-TN]
4/20/23
Told a college-aged legislative intern that he fantasized about her and a female friend "performing sexual acts" on each other and habitually sexually harassed her so badly that thousands of taxpayer dollars were used to help relocate her as she lived in the apartment building as himAccording to a report by the bipartisan state House Ethics Subcommittee -
Jeremy DurhamFmr. State Representative [R-TN]
10/23/23
Crashed his car after which arriving officers observed signs of impairment including a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, slurred speech, dilated pupils, unsteadiness on his feet, responded with "lawyer" each of the many times he was asked to take a field sobriety test and resisted arrest by trying to pull away from officers handcuffing himAccording to arresting documents filed by local police2/08/17
Allegedly according to reporting from credible media outletsGave $29,800 in campaign funds to a professional gambler with a long criminal record and an additional $25,000 to his wife, illegally reimbursed himself $11,946.65 from his campaign account for expenses he provided no documentation of and spent thousands more on personal expenses including an airplane ticket for his wife, custom suits, spa products, sunglasses, lawncare and paint for his home office, among many other thingsAllegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
7/13/16
Had sex with a 20-year-old college student in his government office after drunkenly texting her that he'd like to see her "naked around midnight" and enticing her with a cooler full of beer and later had sex with her in his own home while also being married7/13/16
Kissed a legislative assistant on the neck without her consent and sent suggestive text messages asking her for risqué pictures while also being married, which led to her quitting and finding a new job in the private sector to avoid interacting with himAccording to a report from the Tennessee Attorney General
7/13/16
Solicited erotic pictures from three unsuspecting female legislative staff over dozens of sexualized texts and social media messages while also being married7/13/16
Sexually harassed 22 female legislative staff, interns, lobbyists and others over a three-year period which led to the Tennessee House overwhelmingly voting to remove him from officeAccording to a report from the Tennessee Attorney GeneralMade "quite a display" of putting his hand in his pocket to accentuate his penis as he offered an unwrapped breath mint to a female lobbyist who merely asked for a piece of candy from a jar on his desk which led her to give him the nickname "Pants Candy"According to a report from the Tennessee Attorney General
1/29/16
Was accused of having an extramarital affair with a former state representative by the Lieutenant GovernorAccording to a statement by Republican Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey
12/09/15
Illegally attempted to get an Adderall prescription by altering the refill date without permission from his doctorAccording to charging documents filed by local police
-
David ByrdFmr. State Representative [R-TN]
3/27/18
Inappropriately touched and kissed three underage girls on the high school basketball team he coached while also being married with young childrenAccording to firsthand accounts of the alleged victims first reported by local a TV station
-
Curry ToddFmr. State Representative [R-TN]
8/04/16
Was videotaped stealing his GOP primary opponent's lawn signs in two separate locations in broad daylight after his rival campaign staked them out after many of their signs went missing presumably because numbnuts here stole themAccording to an arrest report by the local police1/18/13
Failed a field sobriety test and refused to submit to a breathalyzer test after being pulled over by police for a suspected DUI upon which they also found a loaded handgun lodged between the driver seat and center consoleAccording to charging documents filed by local police -
Robin SmithFmr. State Representative [R-TN]
3/07/22
Accepted an illegal $24,000 bribe in exchange for pressuring other state lawmakers to contract with a fake consulting company the state speaker of the house secretly createdShe pled guilty to wire fraud and agreed to become a cooperating witness for the prosecution
Tennessee Republican City Official Scandals
-
Keri BlairFmr. School Board Member [R-TN]
1/12/24
Stole a total of $728.61 worth of items from a local Target during seven visits over a 26-day period by not scanning some of the more expensive items in her cart at the self-checkout lineAccording to charging documents filed by local police
-
Gary KuehnSchool Board Member [R-TN]
10/24/22
Pulled out his penis and began stroking himself in front of a nurse until he had an erection after asking her if a testosterone shot she just administered would "make him hard" and then asked her not to leave the room while he continued his lewd behaviorAccording to charging documents filed by local officials
Other Tennessee Republican Scandals
-
Ryan LoskarnSen. Lamar Alexander Chief of Staff
12/12/13
Purchased multiple DVDs and digital videos of "young nude boys" and downloaded numerous felony videos from a peer-to-peer website including one that depicted a young girl being raped in the woods by a man who was supposedly her father and shared many of them online with other individuals over a yearslong periodAllegedly according to reporting from credible media outlets
-
Jimmy NealCommissioner [R-TN]
5/27/22
Possessed and distributed felony images of underage girls as an administrator of an online child pornography groupAccording to charging documents filed by federal officials