Who is Gloria Johnson of the Tennessee Three? Senate candidate is speaking at the DNC

Allie Feinberg, Knoxville News Sentinel
·2 min read

Three Tennessee state legislators are taking the stage at the Democratic National Convention on a night centered around gun violence prevention. State Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson made national news in 2023 for protesting on the Tennessee House of Representatives floor.

The Democrats demonstrated against Tennessee's GOP supermajority and in favor of new gun safety laws in the aftermath of the 2023 deadly Covenant School shooting. Jones and Pearson, both Black men, were expelled for breaking the rules but Johnson was not.

The expelled lawmakers easily won back their seats in special elections.

Soon after they were expelled, Vice President Kamala Harris met with the trio, nicknamed the Tennessee three, at Frisk University in Nashville.

Voters may be familiar with Johnson for another reason: she's running to unseat U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican.

Johnson used the momentum from her "Tennessee Three" activism to fuel the start of her campaign. She told Knox News that Republicans gave her a "gift" by shining a spotlight on their cause of school safety.

Here's what you need to know about the Democrat from Knoxville:

Who is Gloria Johnson?

Johnson, 62, is a retired teacher who taught at Knoxville's Central High School. In 2008, she survived a school shooting there.

Is Gloria Johnson in office?

Johnson represents the 90th District in East Tennessee. She's one of just two Democratic representatives from Knox County. She was first elected to the since-eliminated 13th District in 2012. She lost the seat to a Republican in 2014 and won it back in 2018. She served that district until 2020, when the Republican supermajority redistricted.

She moved to the 90th District, won and has held that seat ever since.

Her district includes neighborhoods north of downtown Knoxville.

What's Gloria Johnson running for?

Johnson is running for the U.S. Senate against Blackburn, but she's also running to keep her seat in the Tennessee State House of Representatives. It's unconventional but legal in Tennessee, though some members of the Republican-led legislature attempted to change that and couldn't get the bill passed.

She faces no opposition in her state House election.

In the event Johnson wins both her state House seat and the U.S. Senate seat, she would almost certainly take the Senate seat and the Knox County Commission would appoint someone to serve in the House until a special election could be held.

What's on Gloria Johnson's platform?

According to her website, Johnson hopes to:

  • Protect abortion rights across the country and protect access to fertility treatments

  • Fight for bipartisan commonsense gun safety laws

  • Work to lower rising costs of housing, groceries and education

  • Expand quality, affordable health care in rural areas and fight to lower drug costs

  • Increase funding for public schools

Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Who is Gloria Johnson of the Tennessee Three?