Dwayne Thompson, the Democratic legislator whose upset victory in a suburban state House District in 2016 ousted a Republican incumbent and gave local Democrats something to cheer about in that Trump year, is taking his leave.
He will not be seeking reelection in District 96.
“I’ve seen the General Assembly become ever more unresponsive and spiteful under the current Republican supermajority leadership. I’ve served 4 terms. This has one of the honors of my life to have my community allowed to represent them in the Tennessee State House. However, I need to spend more time with family and other priorities.,” said Thompson, who expressed confidence that he would be succeeded by a Democrat in the forthcoming 2024 election.
Thompson’s defeat of the GOP’s Steve McManus, who had served several terms in District 96, was unexpected, but it was only the first of four successive wins for Thompson — including victories over Republicans Scott McCormick and Patricia Possel.
In the course of Thompson’s four terms, the district, which bridged East Memphis with sections of Germantown, changed demographically, and by the time it was gerrymandered by the Republican supermajority in 2022 to run east-west across the northern rim of Memphis, it has clearly shifted from Republican to Democratic dominance.
The district’s new configuration, making it even more solidly Democratic, was a de facto concession to that fact.
Thompson, whose boyish appearance and energetic conduct of his office belies his 73 years, said he was confident that he would be succeeded by a younger, aggressive Democrat. At the time of his election, Thompson was a retired Human Resources administrator.
Local Democrats are currently hoping that Democratic businessman Jesse Huseth, who is targeting GOP incumbent John Gillespie this year, can inaugurate a new Democratic tenure in the adjacent district 97.