Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declared an early victory Tuesday, Nov. 8, long before most votes were counted.

Voters across the region showed off their “I Voted” stickers, criticized the election process, and weighed in on Gov. Bill Lee online.

Lee’s term in office has been defined by several economic development wins, the main one being Ford Motor Co.’s decision to build an electric SUV plant at the Megasite of West Tennessee. 

After the General Assembly gave the Tennessee Titans $500 million earlier this year to build a new stadium, local lawmakers are optimistic that the state will be as generous to Memphis in the interest of fairness.

After the Tennessee Legislature adjourned for the year, Brian Kelsey continued to tweet his views on national and state political issues with no reference to the criminal charges he faced. As of Thursday, it appears his Twitter account has been deleted.

State Rep. Barbara Cooper, a Memphis Democrat first elected to the General Assembly in 1996, died Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 93.

The county’s early voter total through the first four days of the period is tops in the state. 

Republican Brent Taylor says he wants to focus on crime and business, rather than culture wars. Ruby Powell-Dennis wants to flip the seat for the Democrats with a message of ending racial and economic injustice.

Once complete, all I-55 north and southbound traffic will shift into the I-55 southbound lanes until fall 2023. There will be one lane in each direction. 

The Shelby County Health Department is in danger of losing its authority to monitor local air pollution as the state pressures the program to address understaffing, numerous audit findings and a permit backlog. 

DeBerry, who represented Shelby County’s District 90, is now a senior adviser to Governor Bill Lee after voting with Republicans on issues such as education choice and life of the unborn.

Several churches rallied in support of a proposed amendment that would ban slavery in all forms in the state. A coalition of political groups is also urging voters to choose a hand-marked paper ballot.

Jason Martin also said he supports legalizing and taxing marijuana.

Tennessee passed a law similar to “truth in sentencing” in 1979. The law led to overcrowded prisons, rioting and millions in damage to state property. The National Guard was called in. The result was a federal consent decree and sentencing reform. Will history repeat itself?

Tennessee voters have the opportunity to pass a constitutional amendment that would ban all-union workplaces and require unions to provide services for which workers do not have to pay.

Ron Gant, Tennessee state representative from District 94, was injured in a vehicular accident Wednesday night. 

A victims’ rights advocate told lawmakers that a punishment-first approach to incarceration is not working, and they should replace it with one that addresses the lingering effects of childhood trauma.

Many of the proposed bills would increase penalties for rape, kidnapping and other violent crimes and require the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to test rape kits faster.

The Tennessee constitution states “that slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, are forever prohibited in this state.” The third constitutional question on the Nov. 8 ballot proposes deleting the exception.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chair has called TVA’s federally defined geographic service territory “a vestige of a bygone era in the region.”

“It’s important to this community. … It’s one step in a number of steps that we will continue to make to support the process,” the governor said.

Outside Planned Parenthood’s Memphis Health Center, supporters joined Francie Hunt on the first leg of her 538-mile trek across Tennessee to protest the state’s abortion ban. 

In January 2021, there were four licensed sportsbooks in Tennessee and around 230,000 player accounts. As of this month, there are 13 licensed sportsbooks and 1.3 million player accounts. 

The Tennessee Attorney General’s office asked a Nashville court to dismiss the case, saying the counties had lost all their relevant arguments.