Timothy Hill wins Tennessee House District 3 special election

by: Slater Teague

Posted: Aug 3, 2023 / 09:21 PM EDT

Updated: Aug 3, 2023 / 11:16 PM EDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — The interim tag will be removed for Timothy Hill as voters in Tennessee House District 3 elected him to his former seat to fill the remainder of former Rep. Scotty Campbell’s term, all while lawmakers prepare for a special legislative session on guns.

Voters across four counties overwhelmingly selected the Sullivan County Republican over Democrat and fellow Sullivan Countian Lori Love, according to election results posted Thursday night. Hill received 2,655 votes compared to Love’s 907.

Turnout was expectedly low with only 3,562 votes cast among nearly 45,000 registered voters in the district.

Hill is familiar with the District 3 seat. He held it from 2013 to 2020, during which time he rose to the position of House majority whip. He gave up the seat in 2020 to run for Congress after U.S. Rep. Phil Roe announced his retirement. However, Hill and a slew of other Republican hopefuls lost in the primary to now-Rep. Diana Harshbarger, although he did receive the second-most votes.

After former Rep. Campbell resigned in April, the Johnson County Commission appointed Hill as interim state representative. Two other Republican candidates, Neal Kerney and Angie Stanley, dropped out of the race shortly thereafter. Stacy Vaughan remained but Hill defeated him by a large margin in the primary in June.

Thursday’s special election comes less than three weeks before state lawmakers are expected to return to Nashville for a special session on public safety and gun control called by Gov. Bill Lee. In the wake of the deadly Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Lee proposed an “order of protection” bill, which some have called a red flag law, although the governor has rejected labeling it as such.

Regarding the special session, Hill told News Channel 11 in June that he would “stand up in favor of the Second Amendment.” For the special election, he was endorsed by the National Rifle Association which gave him an “A” candidate rating.

When Hill was previously in the General Assembly, he served alongside his brother Matthew Hill, who was a state representative from 2005–2020. Their father, Kenneth Hill, continues to serve as commissioner of the state’s Public Utility Commission, a position he has held since 2009.

Hill’s new term, the remainder of Campbell’s, will last through the Nov. 2024 election.

Tennesse House District 3 includes all of Johnson and parts of Carter, Hawkins, and Sullivan counties.