Bud Hulsey

Bud Hulsey
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 13, 2015
Preceded byTony Shipley
Personal details
BornCharles Nolan Hulsey
(1949-05-30) May 30, 1949
PartyRepublican
Children3
EducationBob Jones University (BA)
WebsiteHouse website

Charles Nolan "Bud" Hulsey (born May 30, 1949) is an American politician who has been a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives since 2015. A Republican, he represents the 2nd district, which encompasses parts of Sullivan County.[1]

Early life and education

Charles Nolan Hulsey was born on May 30, 1949. He graduated from Durango High School in Durango, Colorado in 1967. Hulsey later attended Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina, where he graduated with a BA in education. He later entered the FBI National Academy program through the University of Virginia.[1]

Career

After graduating, Hulsey became a Kingsport police lieutenant.[1] He is the owner and President of Burlington Logistics, Inc., a trucking company operating in the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee.[2]

Tennessee House of Representatives (2015–present)

Elections

Hulsey ran for election to represent the 2nd district in 2014. During the campaign, Hulsey's campaign chair and former Representative Michael Locke was killed in a hit and run incident by a drunk driver.[3] Hulsey defeated three-term incumbent Tony Shipley in the Republican primary and independent J.R. Enfield in the general election.[4]

He was re-elected in 2016 after a victory over Democrat challenger J.S. Moore. In 2018 and 2020, he defeated Democrat Arvil Love, Jr.[5] In his following elections, he ran uncontested uncontested. In January 2026, Hulsey announced he would not seek a seventh term in office.[6]

Tenure

In 2015, Hulsey sponsored the Ben Woodruff and Mike Locke Act. The bill would require those convicted of vehicular manslaughter to serve a minimum of 60 percent of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole, up from the previous 30 percent.[3] Hulsey would later join with Senator Jon Lundberg on the legislation, which was enacted by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2019.[7]

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hulsey proposed legislation protecting religious exemptions and prohibiting mandatory vaccination.[8]

In 2023, the Tennessee House voted on motions to remove three sitting Democratic representatives — Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson — for disrupting proceedings with a protest as citizens were at the capitol voicing their outrage over a Nashville school shooting.[9] Hulsey voted to expel all three representatives. Pearson and Jones were expelled, while Johnson was not.[10]

In 2024, Hulsey proposed to ban lab-grown meat. He argued that exposing humans to lab-grown meat was a violation of the Nuremberg Code.[11]

Committee assignments

Hulsey serves in the 114th General Assembly as:[1]

  • Chair, Appropriations and Oversight Committee
  • Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee
  • Member, Private Acts Committee
  • Member, Finance, Ways, and Means Committee

Hulsey served in the 113th General Assembly as:

  • Chair, Criminal Justice Committee
  • Member, Criminal Justice Subcommittee
  • Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee
  • Member, Agriculture and National Resources Subcommittee
  • Member, Calendars and Rules Committee

Hulsey served in the 112th General Assembly as:

  • Chair, Corrections Subcommittee
  • Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee
  • Member, Agriculture and National Resources Subcommittee
  • Member, Criminal Justice Subcommittee
  • Member, State Government Committee

Hulsey served in the 111th General Assembly as:

  • Chair, Corrections Subcommittee
  • Member, State Committee
  • Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee
  • Member, Agriculture and National Resources Subcommittee
  • Member, Judiciary Committee
  • Member, Public Safety Committee of Extraordinary Session II

Hulsey served in the 110th General Assembly as:

  • Vice-chair, House State Government Committee
  • Member, House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
  • Member, House State Government Committee

Hulsey served in the 109th General Assembly as:

  • Member, House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
  • Member, House State Government Committee
  • Member, House State Government Subcommittee

Electoral history

Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bud Hulsey 12,249 84.2
Independent J.R. Enfield 2,302 15.8
Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bud Hulsey 20,334 80.5
Democratic J.S. Moore 4,940 19.6
Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bud Hulsey 17,444 75.9
Democratic Arvil Love, Jr. 4,966 21.6
Independent Robert Ellis 572 2.5
Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bud Hulsey 23,278 77.1
Democratic Arvil Love, Jr. 6,902 22.9
Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bud Hulsey 15,359 99.6
Other (United States) Write-in 63 0.4
Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2024
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bud Hulsey 26,619 100

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Representatives - TN General Assembly".
  2. ↑ "Burlington Logistics, Inc. - About Us".
  3. 1 2 Shepherd, Nick (May 25, 2016). "Kingsport man who killed former state representative sentenced". Kingsport Times-News. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Bud Hulsey - Ballotpedia".
  5. ↑ "Bud Hulsey - Ballotpedia".
  6. ↑ Smith, Ben (April 22, 2026). "TN House GOP, Dems give warm farewell to retiring Rep. Bud Hulsey". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved July 28, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ Osborne, J.H. (August 1, 2021). "Editorial: James Hamm should be denied parole". Kingsport Times-News. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
  8. ↑ Yu, Yue Stella (March 31, 2021). "Tennessee bill allowing religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccines advances in Senate". The Tennessean. Retrieved July 13, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ Brown, Melissa; Jones, Vivian (April 3, 2023). "Tennessee GOP file resolutions to expel three Democrats who led gun reform chants on House floor". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 4, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ↑ Kruesi, Kimberly; Mattise, Jonathan (6 April 2023). "Tennessee's House expels 2 of 3 Democrats over guns protest". Associated Press News.
  11. ↑ "Moves to ban lab-grown meat intensify in Republican US states". Financial Times. 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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