The two Democratic lawmakers who were expelled from the Tennesee House over gun violence protests are officially regaining their seats back.
On Thursday (August 3), Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson won their special elections to keep their state seats, according to CNN projections. Jones defeated GOP opponent Laura Nelson for his Nashville-area District 52 seat while Pearson won his Memphis-area District 86 seat over independent Jeff Johnston.
The special election wins come after Tennessee House Republicans voted to expel Jones and Pearson, who are Black, for protesting gun violence on the chamber floor in the wake of a March shooting at Nashville’s The Covenant School. A third Democrat, Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, also joined the protest but wasn’t expelled from the House.
Days after their expulsions, local government bodies voted to reinstate Jones and Pearson to their seats. However, under state law, both were required to run for their old seats in primary and general elections.
With Thursday’s win, the two will now keep their seats for the rest of their two-year terms.
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