Name Jim Tracy Role American Politician | Party Republican Party | |
 | ||
Education University of Tennessee at Martin | ||
Jim Tracy (born October 9, 1956) is an American politician and a member of the Tennessee Senate for the 16th district, which is composed of Bedford County, Moore County, and part of Rutherford County. He is currently the Assistant Floor Leader of the Senate Republican Caucus, the Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, and a member of the Senate Education Committee and the Senate State and Local Government Committee. Jim Tracy graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin with a Bachelor of Science degree and works as an insurance agent.
Contents
Among legislation sponsored by Tracy is a bill that would ban smoking in indoor public places, places owned or operated by the state, and enclosed areas of employment. The bill passed the State and Local Government Committee with five senators in favor and two against. The bill was passed in May 2007 and took effect on October 1, 2007.
2010 U.S. Congressional campaign
On December, 2009, after incumbent U.S. Representative Bart Gordon decided to retire, Tracy announced that he would be running for the state's 6th Congressional district in the Republican primaries. It was one of the few districts in which John McCain’s victory margin (25 percentage points) was larger than that won by George W. Bush (20 points) in 2004 on presidential election. Among the possible candidates mentioned by insiders were state Representatives Henry Fincher and Mike McDonald, both Democrats who said they won't run for the seat. His biggest competitions in the Republican primary came from state Senator Diane Black and former Rutherford County GOP chairwoman Lou Ann Zelenik. Newt Gingrich endorsed Tracy in the GOP congressional race. He finished third in the primary election.
2014 U.S. Congressional campaign
Tracy announced that he would challenge Rep. Scott DesJarlais for Tennessee's 4th congressional district during the 2014 Republican primary. By the end of June 2013, Tracy had raised nearly $750,000. DesJarlais won the Republican primary by a mere 38 votes before going on to win the general election handily.