Governor Lee sets elections to fill State House District 86 seat vacated by Cooper

Samuel Hardiman, Memphis Commercial Appeal
·1 min read

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called a pair of special elections to fill the state house seat vacated by the death of state Rep. Barbara Cooper, who won reelection posthumously on Nov. 8.

Lee set the primary date for State House District 86 as Jan. 24 and the general election is March 14. Lee filed a writ of election with the Tennessee secretary of state's office Monday.

The seat is in a district that skews largely Democratic. Cooper did not face a Republican on Nov. 8, but, instead, defeated independent Michael Porter by 56 percentage points. The seat stretches north and south along the Mississippi River, going from Southwest Memphis through Downtown to Millington.

The timing of the election means the seat will be vacant during the upcoming session of the Tennessee General Assembly. The Shelby County Commission can appoint someone in the interim and that person would serve until the election is certified in March.

Cooper, first elected in 1996, died Oct. 25.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Gov. Lee calls special election to fill Barbara Cooper's seat