Current 47th District state representative Judd Matheny announced Friday that he will run as a Republican for the seat that will likely be vacated when present 6th District Congressman Diane Black takes a shot at the governor’s chair this fall.
Coffee County resident Matheny, a Tennessee Army National Guard veteran and former law enforcement officer, stopped in Smithville on a tour of the district Friday.
“My hallmarks have always been being pro Homeland Security and pro defense,” Matheny told local media. “Many of the things President Trump is talking about doing now, I have been trying to do for fifteen years in the legislature. I passed the strongest state level anti-terrorism laws in the country. I was the first to pass comprehensive meth laws in the country when I first got elected. I intend to take the experiences that I have learned and the very strong impactful conservative record I have to Washington D.C. I am a big proponent of states’ rights. I want to make sure that the states have less reliance on the federal government. I fought for that very hard in Tennessee and when I get to Washington I’m going to push power down and give Tennesseans, not less money, but more control of the money they have.”
Matheny has been married to his wife, Christy, for 18 years, and the couple have two children in high school.
The 6th Congressional District consists of Cannon, Clay, Coffee, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Robertson, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, White, Wilson and portions of Cheatham and Van Buren counties.