How GOP Will Make Mark on Statehouse Yet to Be Seen

Republicans made huge gains last night in the state legislature, picking up at least a dozen seats in the 99-member House of Representatives. The GOP now controls both legislative chambers, along with the governor’s office, for the first time since the Civil War. But the specifics of how Republicans will use that newfound power aren’t clear yet.

GOP officials celebrate their dramatic gains on election night.

With GOP lawmakers now wielding what could be seen as a mandate from voters, many are looking to Governor-elect Bill Haslam for an agenda.

Haslam figures the next administration has to close a $1.5 billion budget hole, but what that means in a concrete sense isn’t clear.

GOTTO: “Well I believe what it means is we’re going to have true fiscal conservatism.”

Jim Gotto is one of several new House Republicans to capture what had been a Democratic seat.

REPORTER: “Can you speak at all to where some of those cuts might come from?”
GOTTO: “At this point I can’t; the budget for the state of Tennessee is huge and I say this a lot: the devil is always in the details.”

One area where Gotto is a bit more specific is making things easier for small businesses, by streamlining permitting processes. And that’s something to which Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey has given some thought.

RAMSEY: “I think the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has been extremely difficult to deal with over the last administration on getting permits in a reasonable and timely manner. The Department of Commerce and Insurance – there’ve been times when people try to get their business license it lays on somebody’s desk for a month or six weeks, and I want to keep that from happening.”

Ramsey says the GOP will likely also expand the front on social issues like gun rights and limiting abortion.

But whatever the issue at hand, he and Gotto agree last night’s electoral gains come with some degree of pressure. Now that Republicans are in charge at the capitol, Gotto says, they can’t afford to disappoint voters.

GOTTO: “If we let the people of Tennessee down, then we’re not going to last long. So we have a huge responsibility to be proactive.”

One area the party will make a distinct mark will be on the heels of the new census. That’s when the Republican-dominated legislature will redraw the lines of the state’s Congressional and legislative districts.

And after last night, there won’t be many Democrats left to weigh in.