Knox News invited the Democratic and Republican nominees for Tennessee Senate to our office for in-person interviews and to complete a questionnaire so they can speak directly to voters.
Here are the responses from the candidates in District 5 and 7, which both represents voters in Knox County.
Be sure to vote Nov. 3!
Tennessee Senate
District 5
Tennessee Senate District 5 covers all of Anderson and Loudon counties and extends into west Knox County. It includes Oak Ridge, Clinton, Lenoir City, Loudon and Tellico Village, along with parts of Farragut and northwest Knoxville.
Democrat
David Miller
Age: 78
Occupation: Retired educator, Anderson County school board member
IN-PERSON INTERVIEW
Tennessee has open primaries, but some lawmakers have supported requiring voters to register by party before voting
in a primary. Do you support closing Tennessee’s primaries, and what problem do you believe that would solve – or create – for voters?
I think there should be open primaries. I think people should be allowed to vote in any primary they want to at any time. I think that by closing it, it creates the problem where the Republicans have not let people run for office if they had previously voted in a Democratic primary. A classic example of that is in an Anderson County school board race. Jo Williams, who is probably the most outstanding school board member in the United States, had voted in a Democratic primary a few years ago. They refused to let her run as a Republican so she ran as an independent and then the Republicans got someone to run against her and she lost the election. Her losing that election, to me, was like kicking the pope out of the pew. An outstanding school board member.
It was just unbelievable, and it’s a result of that type of politics. There needs to be open primaries.
What would you do to make housing more affordable for renters and first-time homebuyers?
I think some of that is tied in with the economy. When you’ve got people having to pay sales tax on all the food they eat and having to pay for using their tax dollars for other things like school vouchers, it doesn’t allow there to be money available to create programs for people to afford their rent and afford to be a first-time homebuyer. I think programs could be created. I think it would take some creative solutions. I would investigate what other states are doing to make it possible.
Who is a leader you aspire to emulate and why?
I’ve always been very fond of Frances Perkins, who is (former president) Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s secretary of labor. She was the first secretary of labor and she convinced FDR to create Social Security, child labor laws, 40-hour work weeks and the recognition of unions. That was not an easy thing at the time. She had to convince him that was an essential part of what this country wanted and needed at the time, and she was able to convince him. She’s an absolute unsung hero in American history.
ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE
David Miller did not participate in the Knox News voter's guide online questionnaire.
Republican
Jimmy Matlock
Age: 67
Occupation: Business owner, former state representative
IN-PERSON INTERVIEW
Tennessee has open primaries, but some lawmakers have supported requiring voters to register by party before voting in a primary. Do you support closing Tennessee’s primaries, and what problem do you believe that would solve – or create – for voters?
I was probably neutral on this issue up until maybe a couple of years ago. Now it seems to be pretty strong, maybe overwhelming, among Republicans who’ve reached out to me that they want to close the primary elections. The reason I was open for the longest time was in many cases, we had, in certain areas, no two-candidate races. We had single candidates and I thought people still need to have a chance to vote.
That’s kind of changed in the last couple cycles in which both parties seem to have filled the slate of options. In doing so, I think it now allows people the choice.
What would you do to make housing more affordable for renters and first-time homebuyers?
Everybody’s kind of searching for that perfect answer. Interest rates have creeped up dramatically. The interest rate, the available housing, is kind of driven by supply and demand. Many communities are seeing an influx of new homes. Many people want to be where we are. Our inventory is very limited. I’m not for the government jumping too far in because we tend to overmanage. We tend to put levels of bureaucracy, we tend to do regulations. I think the free market probably is the answer.
Who is a leader you aspire to emulate and why?
I’ve read the book, like so many people, written recently by Sen. Lamar Alexander. He’s the individual that I kind of started with way back, and I’ve followed his career. I think looking over the body of work, you cannot debate the fact he consistently had sought out options coming from both sides. I tend to look at that same perspective. I want to work with people, not against people. I want to share ideas.
ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE
What requirements should large data centers meet before receiving public incentives or local approval?
Self-sufficient to support themselves
Tennessee is one of the fastest-growing states in the country. What is the biggest challenge that growth creates? What's the greatest opportunity and how will you leverage it?
Adequate infrastructure. / Human resources from blue collar to PhD
Describe a specific policy you will work to enact to make life more affordable for Tennesseans?
Creating opportunities, maintaining job growth, keeping taxes lowDid you use AI assistance to help write your answers? If not, please write "N/A." If so, please elaborate.
Absolutely not.
District 7
Tennessee Senate District 7 stretches across much of Knoxville from downtown to parts of Farragut. It includes parts of downtown Knoxville, Fountain City and west Knoxville.
Democrat
Bryan Langan
Age: 46
Occupation: Plumber
IN-PERSON INTERVIEW
Tennessee has open primaries, but some lawmakers have supported requiring voters to register by party before voting in a primary. Do you support closing Tennessee’s primaries, and what problem do you believe that would solve – or create – for voters?
I do not support closing these primaries. I think voters should be able to vote for whoever they feel like. There may be a time where you may be a GOP or Democratic voter and there may be someone on the other side that in this particular race you’d rather vote for. You want them to have that.
The other issue that I see coming up is for positions like sheriff, where we’ve see multiple times in Knox County there’s not a Democratic challenger. The only option voters in Knox County have to vote for their sheriff is to vote in the GOP primary. That would take that right away form Knox County voters. The only answer you have is to vote in the Republican primary, so you have to be able to do that. I think (state lawmakers) are trying to help control that.
What would you do to make housing more affordable for renters and first-time homebuyers?
Two things can be done. One of them is that we can allow our cities and counties to reinstate affordable housing policies. We can always help subsidize first-time home buyers. There are people offering low interest rates for workers in Tennessee who are first-time homebuyers. We can work with builders to do some level of incentive to build more affordable housing. That would be my two things, allow localities to see what’s best in their area and try to officer incentives.
Who is a leader you aspire to emulate and why?
I really like Bernie Sanders. Part of it is because he’s been so consistent. For me, one of his biggest things is campaign finance reform and getting the corporate money out of our politics. That’s kind of what made me interested in him in the first place, the fact that he’s been consistent. Whether you agree with me or disagree with me, I’m going to try to be as consistent as possible and follow the data. I’m going to be up front with you, saying, "These are my positions. This is what I believe in." If you can bring me data-driven information that I can look at and will change my mind, I am more than happy to look.
ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE
What requirements should large data centers meet before receiving public incentives or local approval?
I don't think we need to have large data centers in Tennessee.
In fact, I will fight to enact what I refer to as the Tennesseans Right to Privacy Act to end the mass surveillance of our citizens, including banning the use of (automated license plate readers) and other surveillance cameras and systems along our roadways. It will also ban any surge or surveillance pricing of Tennesseans. I will fight to ensure that the penalties are stiff enough that corporations won't be able to just consider them a cost of doing business. I will work to make sure the penalties will be both prohibitive and punitive with potential criminal consequences for those in charge. It is time those in power do their duty, step up, start fighting for the people and stop corporations from spying on and exploiting them.
In my opinion, if they can't collect our data, then they sure don't need data centers in our state, and that is a win-win for the people of Tennessee.
Tennessee is one of the fastest-growing states in the country. What is the biggest challenge that growth creates? What's the greatest opportunity and how will you leverage it?
The biggest challenge is infrastructure. We must upgrade and expand to not only meet our current growth, but also prepare for future growth including addressing our traffic and our water systems. The opportunity here is to push for funding to do it correctly.
I will push for more investment into mass transit, particularly rail systems to help alleviate the traffic on our roads. We have seen cities, like Nashville, continue to widen highways with no relief of traffic, and all the TNGOP wants to offer us is roads for rich people. They will expand and build their pay lanes for the wealthy with our tax dollars, while working Tennesseans will continue to battle traffic. I will fight for real solutions that help all Tennesseans.
Describe a specific policy you will work to enact to make life more affordable for Tennesseans?
I will work to enact what I call the Sales Tax Relief Act to end all state level sales tax on groceries, any clothing under $50, and any footwear under $100. This can help provide some real relief to Tennesseans, particularly families with children, who are feeling the squeeze of inflation.Did you use AI assistance to help write your answers? If not, please write "N/A." If so, please elaborate.
N/A
Republican
Richard Briggs (incumbent)
Age: 73
Occupation: Cardiovascular surgeon and state senator
IN-PERSON INTERVIEW
Tennessee has open primaries, but some lawmakers have supported requiring voters to register by party before voting in a primary. Do you support closing Tennessee’s primaries, and what problem do you believe that would solve – or create – for voters?
There was a poll done here in Knox County with Republicans and it was a little bit more in favor of closed primaries, but it was not this overwhelming desire to have that done. It turned out to be more in between.
The argument about leaving it the way it is now is this is how Republicans came into power in Tennessee. There’s been so much of Middle Tennessee and West Tennessee that was Democratic historically and as the politics shifted, they started voting Republican. One of my concerns with the closed primaries is we’re going to get the more extreme groups on both sides. I’m not sure either of those groups would represent the middle. Frankly, I think most people are … the Democrats are center-left and a lot of the Republicans are center-right.
On the other hand, the Republicans are saying that too many Democrats are crossing over (and voting in GOP primaries). I’m not sure who the crossover Democrats are voting for. I don’t have a straight answer. We did have a (bill to close primaries) and it did pass out of (the Senate State and Local Government Committee). I (supported it) mostly because I said, “Let’s put it out there and then we vote on it.’
What would you do to make housing more affordable for renters and first-time homebuyers? Where will the money come from?
The Tennessee Housing Development Agency, they present their budgets to us and they have done an excellent job managing it. We could actually put more money available to them. They’re self-funded but the state backs up the loans. We can put more money there.
Something else, and I’ve talked with Sen. Marsha Blackburn about this, there’s a lot of vacant state land and we can come up with public-private partnerships to build apartments or homes on some of that state land. The state being involved with it will reduce the cost, particularly for critical workers.
I think the two big things that we can do, because right now affordability is the number one issue, is we can do it on housing and child care. I had a bill last year that if you own your home, and say you’ve got a couple of kids and you decide to stay at home, you can take in three or four more kids. It would be a lot less expensive if somebody is taking care of a few kids at home.
Who is a leader you aspire to emulate and why?
I really admire Sen. Lamar Alexander. He was a Republican governor who served with the Democratic legislature. It was how the Democrats and Republicans really worked well together. Then he went to the U.S. Senate, ended up as the chairman of the health committee. He was able to work with George W. Bush, he was able to work with Barak Obama. He somehow was able to navigate all of this stuff. He was a public servant with really impeccable ethics and I just think he would be a role model for anyone at any level of government in political life.
ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE
What requirements should large data centers meet before receiving public incentives or local approval?
A comprehensive answer to this question would require much more space than allocated here but briefly a data center should not be approved until the community impact of energy requirements, noise and water usage are thoroughly investigated. The size of the data center, location and availability of necessary resources play critical roles in the evaluation process.
Rigid, one size fits all regulation will not work since each data center location and community resources are different. Local governments need the flexibility and authority from the state to accept, modify or reject data center applications.
Tennessee is one of the fastest-growing states in the country. What is the biggest challenge that growth creates? What's the greatest opportunity and how will you leverage it?
Tennessee’s reputation as a low-tax state with a positive business environment has attracted business relocation as well as retirees. Growth with well-paying jobs is always welcomed but has created traffic congestion and escalating housing costs. The 2027 session of the Tennessee General Assembly will be addressing new ways to finance our transportation requirements and lower housing costs for Tennessee families.
Many of the business and manufacturing relocations to Tennessee bring opportunities for higher-paying jobs with benefits. But those opportunities will require additional education and technical training to fill those jobs. The state government must leverage the ability to be nimble and quickly responsive to specific technical training demands to remain competitive in attracting the best paying jobs.
Describe a specific policy you will work to enact to make life more affordable for Tennesseans?
Two specific policies I worked on during the 2026 session and will continue efforts in 2027 are housing costs and affordability of child care. Specifically, bureaucratic burdens and unnecessary delays after housing projects are vetted and approved increase the cost of construction which are passed on to the consumer. I’m working on legislation to reduce these delays.
Secondly, the cost of child care prevents many women with young families from returning to the workforce and reduces family income. I have already had meetings with child care providers on regulatory barriers that either prevent expansion of services or result in increase costs to families. Furthermore, I will continue my work from the 2026 session with HOAs and homeowners to find a compromise to permit affordable in-home child care that benefits both the child care provider and working parents. The safety and well-being of children in child care will always remain a primary concern.
Did you use AI assistance to help write your answers? If not, please write "N/A." If so, please elaborate.
N/A
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee Senate District 5 and 7 voter's guide: Meet the candidates
