Harris aims to represent all of District 73 in Nashville

Jimmy Harris has been involved in local politics for about three decades in Madison County.

For 15 of those years, he served as County Mayor from 2007-2022.

He sparked a lot of conversation in February when he pulled a petition to run for the Republican nomination for State Representative in District 73, representing the northern two-thirds of the County in Nashville.

On April 1, he filed his petition, officially putting his name on the ballot to challenge incumbent Chris Todd – who’s served in the office since January of 2019.

The following Thursday night, between 150 and 200 of his closest friends and supporters gathered to officially kick off his campaign leading into the primary election in August.

“I’ve lived and worked here for the better part of 35 years, and I know everybody and everybody knows me – from Pinson to Three Way and Mercer to Spring Creek,” Harris said. “And the people of Madison County need someone in Nashville representing them and their needs for more people.”

While the position of County Mayor is definitely different from being one of 99 representatives in the General Assembly, Harris said he feels like the experience he gained from his previous position would be valuable to him as a representative and his contacts in Nashville would make him a valuable asset for Madison Countians in the state capitol.

“Madison County and its needs have changed a good bit since 2007, and they continue to change even in the last two years since I’ve been out of office, but I’m aware of what they are,” Harris said. “When I got out of the [Madison County] Courthouse, I went back to real estate, and I’m fully aware of the challenges our local real estate market has with the growth that is coming to Jackson and the surrounding areas.

“I’m in touch with people that represent different groups throughout our great county, some of them who feel like they could have better representation in our state government. I’d like to have the opportunity to provide that for them.”

No one pulled a petition for the Democratic nomination or to run as an independent candidate in this race, so this election appears to come down to whomever wins the Republican nomination.

Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news