Justin Lafferty

Justin Lafferty
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from the 89th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 8, 2019
Preceded by	Roger Kane
Personal details
Born	(1971-05-13) May 13, 1971 (age 53)
Political party	Republican
Children	1
Residence	Knoxville, Tennessee
Education	University of Tennessee (BS)
Website	Official website Campaign website

Justin Augustus Lafferty (born May 13, 1971) is an American politician from the state of Tennessee. A Republican, Lafferty has represented the 89th district of the Tennessee House of Representatives, based in the western suburbs of Knoxville, since 2019.^[1][2]

Career

In 2018, Roger Kane announced his retirement from the 89th district of the Tennessee House of Representatives, and a crowded field formed to replace him. Lafferty, a stay-at-home father and a landlord, was considered a significant underdog against several of his competitors, including former Knox County sheriff Tim Hutchison and former state senator Stacey Campfield. However, Lafferty outpolled both to win the primary with just over 30% of the vote.^[3] In the strongly Republican suburban seat, Lafferty went on to soundly win the general election over Democrat Coleen Martinez, 64-36%.^[4]

On May 4, 2021, Lafferty made a speech on the Tennessee House floor in defense of the Three-fifths Compromise, a provision of the original U.S. Constitution resulting from a 1787 agreement between northern and southern states, providing that three-fifths of a state's slave population would be counted for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The compromise is regarded as one of the most racist deals among the states during the country's founding. Lafferty inaccurately claimed in his speech that the three-fifths compromise was adopted for "the purpose of ending slavery."^[5][6][7]

In 2023, Lafferty supported resolutions to expel three Democratic lawmakers from the legislature for violating decorum rules.^[8][9]

Personal life

Lafferty lives in Knoxville with his wife and daughter.^[10]

References

1. "Representative Justin Lafferty". Tennessee General Assembly. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
2. "Justin Lafferty". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
3. Ryan Wilusz (August 2, 2018). "Justin Lafferty pulls GOP upset in District 89, to face Coleen Martinez in November". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
4. Brenna McDermott (November 6, 2018). "TN Election: Lafferty wins State House District 89 with 64 percent of votes". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
5. Rick Rojas (May 4, 2021). "Tennessee Lawmaker Is Criticized for Remarks on Three-Fifths Compromise". New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
6. Nicholas Reimann (May 4, 2021). "Tennessee Lawmaker Bizarrely Defends Three-Fifths Compromise As 'Ending Slavery'". Forbes. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
7. KIMBERLEE KRUESI (May 4, 2021). "GOP lawmaker: Three-Fifths Compromise was to end slavery". Associated Press. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
8. Andone, Dakin; Young, Ryan; Simonson, Amy; Almasy, Steve. "Tennessee's Republican-led House expels 2 Democratic lawmakers over gun reform protest, fails in bid to oust a third". CNN. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
9. "Two representatives expelled from Tennessee House of Representatives". WSMV-TV. April 6, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
10. "Justin Lafferty, Conservative for State Representative". Vote For Lafferty. Retrieved July 31, 2020.