Beth Harwell

Beth Harwell (Republican Party) was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, representing District 56. She assumed office in 1988. She left office in 2018.

Harwell (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Tennessee's 5th Congressional District. She lost in the Republican primary on August 4, 2022.

Harwell served as speaker of the House from 2011 to 2018. Harwell was the first female speaker of the House in Tennessee history.^[1]

Biography

Harwell earned her B.A. from David Lipscomb University in 1978. She received her M.S. from Peabody College in 1979. She earned her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1982. Harwell was a research analyst for the State Board of Regents from 1981 to 1983. She worked for the University of Tennessee Center for Labor Management as a trainer from 1983 to 1986. From 1986 to 1990, she was an associate professor at Belmont University.

Committee assignments

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Harwell served on the following committees:

2013-2014

In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Harwell served on the following committees:

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Harwell served on these committees:

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Harwell served on these committees:

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Beth Harwell endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.^[2]

Elections

2022

See also: Tennessee's 5th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

Democratic primary election

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Justicia Rizzo (D)
• Jim Cooper (D)

Republican primary election

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Sarah Grams (R)
• Richie Lee (R)
• Quincy McKnight (R)
• Baxter Lee (R)
• David Vitalli (R)
• Morgan Ortagus (R)

2018

See also: Tennessee gubernatorial election, 2018

General election

Democratic primary election

Republican primary election

Endorsements

2016

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2016

Elections for the Tennessee House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 4, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was April 7, 2016.

Incumbent Beth Harwell defeated Chris Moth in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 general election.^[28][29]

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 56 General Election, 2016
Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Beth Harwell Incumbent	58.05%	21,069
	Democratic	Chris Moth	41.95%	15,224
Total Votes	36,293
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State

Chris Moth defeated Sydney Rogers in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 Democratic primary.^[30][31]

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 56 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chris Moth	51.20%	1,838
	Democratic	Sydney Rogers	48.80%	1,752
Total Votes	3,590

Incumbent Beth Harwell ran unopposed in the Tennessee House of Representatives District 56 Republican primary.^[30][31]

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 56 Republican Primary, 2016
Party	Candidate
	Republican	Beth Harwell Incumbent (unopposed)

2014

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for 99 seats in the Tennessee House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 7, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 3, 2014. Chris Moth was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Incumbent Beth Harwell was unopposed in the Republican primary. Harwell defeated Moth in the general election.^[32][33]

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Beth Harwell Incumbent	63.3%	14,839
	Democratic	Chris Moth	36.7%	8,601
Total Votes	23,440

2012

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2012

Harwell ran in the 2012 election for Tennessee House of Representatives, District 56. Harwell ran unopposed in the August 2 primary election. She was unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.^[34][35]

2010

See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2010

Harwell ran for re-election to the 56th District seat in 2010. She was unopposed in the August 5 primary.^[36] She defeated Democrat Matthew Kenigson in the general election on November 2, 2010.^[37]

2008

On Nov. 4, 2008, Harwell won election to the 56th District Seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives.^[38]

Harwell raised $115,300 for her campaign.^[39]

Tennessee House of Representatives, District 56 (2008)
Candidates	Votes
Beth Hartwell (R)	31,318

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Beth Harwell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Tennessee

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Tennessee scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2018

In 2018, the 110th Tennessee General Assembly, second session, was in session January 9 to April 27.

• Family Action of Tennessee

Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues.

• National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to small business issues.

• Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.

• Tennessee Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

• Tennesseans for Student Success House and Senate (select year on the side pull-down menu)

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to education.

• The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
At the time of her service in the state House, Harwell and her husband, Sam, had three children. They resided in Nashville, Tennessee.

See also

External links

Footnotes

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