Candidate Directory

To view the Candidate Directory for the Tennessee District 32 Special Election, click here.

John Ragan

WINNER

House District33

Candidate Headshot
Incumbent or New

Incumbent

Party Affiliation

Republican

City

Oak Ridge

Candidate Email Address

ragan4tn@att.net

Campaign Website URL

ragan4tn.com

Campaign Facebook Page

facebook.com


SURVEY QUESTIONS


QUESTION 1:
Would you support or oppose legislation that would prohibit abortion except when necessary to prevent the death of the mother?

Support

QUESTION 2:
Would you support or oppose legislation that would make either sexual orientation or gender identity/expression a new protected class under Tennessee’s civil rights laws?

Oppose

QUESTION 3:
Would you support or oppose a bill to amend Tennessee’s marriage statute to expressly authorize the issuance of marriage licenses to two people of the same sex?

Oppose

QUESTION 4:
Would you support or oppose legislation that would establish a $15 per hour minimum wage in Tennessee?

Oppose

QUESTION 5:
Would you support or oppose legislation to allow the state to defend public K-12 schools that are sued because they designate the use of locker rooms and bathrooms on the basis of biological sex instead of the gender by which a student identifies?

Support

QUESTION 6:
Do you support or oppose the proposition, advanced by a certain business coalition, that the bill described in question 5 is “discriminatory” and “would harm our economy and damage our state’s reputation”?

Oppose

QUESTION 7:
Currently, a majority of the Justices on the Tennessee Supreme Court select the state’s Attorney General and Reporter. Would you support or oppose an amendment to the state Constitution that allows the Legislature to elect the Attorney General and Reporter in the same manner that it elects the Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer?

Support

QUESTION 8:
Would you support or oppose an amendment to the state Constitution that allows the Governor to appoint the state’s Attorney General and Reporter subject to confirmation by the Legislature, as now happens with the appointment of the state’s Supreme Court Justices?

Oppose

QUESTION 9:
Would you support or oppose legislation, like Insure Tennessee proposed by Governor Haslam in 2015, that would expand Medicaid coverage in Tennessee beyond the Medicaid-eligible population?

Oppose

QUESTION 10:
Do you support or oppose the decision by the state’s Department of Health to disregard the state’s current adoption laws and allow a child’s original birth certificate to show that the child has two mothers simply because one of the women is married to the child’s biological mother?

Oppose

QUESTION 11:
Would you support or oppose a bill that would prohibit the state or local governmental entities from either giving preference to or discriminating against a business entity in awarding of grants or contracts based on whether the business has made sexual orientation or gender identity a protected status under its personnel policies, assuming that either of such statuses is not otherwise required by federal law?

Support

QUESTION 12:
Would you support or oppose legislation to award all of Tennessee’s Electors in a presidential election to the Party of the candidate who wins the national popular vote?

Oppose

QUESTION 13:
Do you support or oppose legalizing horse racing tracks in Tennessee at which bets can be placed on races?

Undecided

QUESTION 14:
There is a school of thought that the Constitution is a “living” document, meaning its various provisions are evolving and should be interpreted in the context of contemporary societal mores. Would you support or oppose a nominee to the Tennessee Supreme Court if there is credible evidence that the nominee believes the state or federal Constitution should be viewed or interpreted as a “living” document?

Oppose

QUESTION 15:
Would you support or oppose legislation to ensure that an adoption agency with a sincerely held belief that marriage is only one man and one woman would not lose its state license to make adoption placements if it only placed children in homes into which the marriage was of one man and one woman?

Support


ESSAY QUESTIONS


ESSAY QUESTION 1:
Explain your view of state government’s role in relation to economic growth and/or job creation.

Governments at all levels "are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed" and must be restricted to the tasks necessary to "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

Where it is necessary for promoting the "general Welfare," governments have a role in creating a business climate that encourages economic prosperity. Indeed, establishing economic prosperity is essential in securing the "Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

ESSAY QUESTION 2:
What are your thoughts about a parent of a child in a low performing public school being provided a voucher equal to the amount of the state’s per-student expenditure that would be applied toward the child’s private school tuition?

An educated citizenry is essential to the well being of any state for both prosperity and a just government. Therefore, the state should encourage citizens to be educated and well informed. In fact, education for our young citizens is required under the Tennessee Constitution.

An inadequately performing public school is, by definition, failing to meet the criteria established in our state constitution. Consequently, alternative solutions must be pursued to ensure that an acceptable opportunity for education is available to all Tennessee students. The exact details of such a solution are impossible to specify for every situation. Therefore, every situation must be examined and individual corrections applied where ever and whenever such a solution is the most appropriate for a particular situation.

ESSAY QUESTION 3:
What is one of the most satisfying things you have ever done or accomplished and what made it so satisfying to you?

As Robert E. Lee said: "You should do your duty in all things. You can never do more and you should never wish to do less." Given that I am in full agreement with this sentiment, I must say that successfully accomplishing my duties, both to my family and my fellow citizens, has been the most rewarding aspect of my life.

Leading our nation's young people in uniform in a theater of conflict certainly qualifies as one of those duties that was, both, satisfying and rewarding. Additionally, it was a tremendous satisfaction to know that all under my charge accomplished their mission of national defense and returned home alive.

Moreover, the satisfaction of representing my fellow citizens in our state government has also been incredibly rewarding. Government of the people, by the people and for the people is, without a doubt, the reason I served in uniform and continue to serve in the General Assembly.

Helping maintain the great experiment in democracy and republicanism that is America, in general, and Tennessee, in particular, will remain one of my most satisfying professional accomplishments.

ESSAY QUESTION 4:
What personal qualities or experiences do you think will best serve you in your role as a state legislator?

Willingness to work hard and pay attention to details of the people's business.

ESSAY QUESTION 5:
What bill that passed in the last General Assembly would you have voted against and why, or what bill that was not passed in the last General Assembly do you wish had passed and why?

My voting record is a matter of public record. Consequently, I do not think rehashing and details of any portion of it in this reply is particularly worthwhile.

Nonetheless, the general answer to both of these questions is the same: I voted against some bills and for others because those votes are what I felt was best for the citizens of the Great State of Tennessee and the United States of America.