Jim Bryson (politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Another notable person of the same name is Canadian performer Jim Bryson.
Jim Bryson (born July 14, 1961) is a Tennessee politician, a former Republican member of the State Senate representing the 23rd District, which encompasses Williamson County and part of Davidson County, and the 2006 Republican nominee for Governor of Tennessee.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] State Senator
Bryson was elected to the State Senate in 2002, serving in the 103rd and 104th General Assemblies. He currently is Secretary of the Government Operations Committee and serves as a member of the Senate Commerce, Labor and Agriculture Committee, the Senate Education Committee, and the Fiscal Review Committee. He is noted as one of the Assembly's most vocal advocates of Right to Life and anti-gun control views.
[edit] 2006 Gubernatorial race
On August 3, 2006, Bryson won the nomination to run for Governor against incumbent Phil Bredesen. Bryson, upon entering the race immediately assumed the position of front-runner for the Republican nomination, since the other announced contenders were political near-unknowns and the state GOP endorsed him before the primary. Any Republican potential nominee was considered to be a decided underdog in the general election to Bredesen. Bryson won the nomination with a vote total approximately equal to that of all of his rivals combined.
Since his Senate district is considered to be the most reliably-Republican and wealthiest one in Middle Tennessee and his re-election was all but assured, some have questioned why he would give it up, facing the long odds that his gubernatorial bid seems to entail. The district vacancy has created considerable interest upon the choice of a successor, with the consensus being that State Representative Glen Casada of College Grove, whose district overlaps considerably with the 23rd Senate District, would likely be the front-runner to succeed Bryson in the Senate. Nevertheless, Casada has opted to seek re-election to the State Assembly and seven lesser-known Republicans have filed for the GOP primary. The winner of the GOP primary in the 23rd District is likely to win the general election.[1]
Senator Bryson faced a remarkable defeat on November 7, 2006. He lost in all 95 counties in Tennessee, including his home county, Williamson. Governor Bredesen was inaugurated on January 20, 2007.
[edit] Personal
Bryson was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He married Carol Ratcliff in 1991. They have four children together: Maria, Nadia, Nick, and Alex. Bryson earned his bachelor's degree from Baylor University and his MBA from Vanderbilt University and is the owner of 20/20 Marketing, a marketing firm with offices in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida.