News from the South - Tennessee News Feed

Cash for Clout database: Who’s funding Tennessee’s politics?

Published

3 weeks ago

February 24, 2025

Staff Editor

tennesseelookout.com – Adam Friedman – 2025-02-24 05:01:00

Cash for Clout database: Who’s funding Tennessee’s politics?

by Adam Friedman, Tennessee Lookout
February 24, 2025

This database was first published in July 24, 2023. It has since been updated multiple times. The last update came on Feb. 24, 2025.

Every year millions of dollars flow to Nashville, flooding the halls of Tennessee’s state capitol as a small number of deep-pocketed groups attempt to influence lawmakers.

The money comes in many streams through different legal channels, all aiming to influence regulations, push for tax breaks and secure government contracts, often to further private interests instead of the public. The Tennessee Lookout, relying on publicly filed lobbying and campaign finance reports, created a tool to search Tennessee’s top political spenders and recipients.

This page allows users to discover who’s spending the most cash to influence lawmakers and different ways groups spend money to gain influence.

Through the search bars below:

Explore every person and organization that has given a specific state politician at least $2,500Look at politicians and organizations spending money independently to elect their chosen candidatesSearch all the organizations that have spent money lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Nashville

Cash for Clout is an ongoing series examining the influence of money on Tennessee politics. Other articles in the series include:

Tennessee’s million-dollar clubPolitics Working & the Economy Tennessee’s largest companies secure sales tax exemptions for everything from jet fuel to waterConnecting the dots between Tennessee’s home builders and bill to deregulate construction on wetlandsThe $27.1 million clash between education reform and public school advocatesWhat happens when a cash-poor billionaire wants a new sports stadium? Lobbying.AT&T, the broadband conundrum and a $204 million tax exemptionTimely donations to Gov. Lee spark rise of Tennessee charter operator with dubious ties

All the information in this article comes from the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance and relies on self-reporting by companies and individuals. If you want to contest any data in this story, email afriedman@tennesseelookout.com.

Have a tip on how money is influencing decisions at the Tennessee Capitol? Send an email to afriedman@tennesseelookout.com. For encrypting messaging, text 615-249-8509 on Signal, or call the same number.

Methodology:

The underlying data for this story comes from a lobbying report database and a campaign finance report database maintained by the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance. To create the top donor list, the Lookout combined spending from three categories — lobbying, campaign donations and independent expenditures.

The Bureau provides lobbying expenditures in ranges. For example, when the report said $10,000 to $25,000, the Lookout used $17,500 for the amount spent. When the report said less than $10,000, $1,000 was used.

For campaign donations, the Lookout has tracked contributions to every candidate and political action committee connected to a candidate since 2009.

Contributions to candidates and their PACs were combined when reporting how much they raised. We eliminated all donations from elected officials to their party PACs (Tennessee Legislative Campaign Committee and Tennessee Tomorrow PAC) because often those donations were reimbursements for campaign expenses.

Independent expenditures were also reported as part of the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance campaign database under expenditures. We used a similar method for donations to compile a complete spending list.

Since 2010, several companies, associations, and families have used multiple political action committees, changed their company names, or purchased other companies with political activity in Tennessee. The Lookout combined all the names it could find for a single company, family, or association. All of a past company’s campaign finance and lobbying data were combined under the new company’s name for mergers.

The data behind this story is also available to download

The completely unedited campaign finance database broken into folders, which contains over 2 million rows of data includes donations to lawmakers, lawmakers PAC and donations to any PAC that has operated in Tennessee (from Jan. 16, 2010, to Jan. 15, 2025).

An edited form of campaign finance data, this data mirrors the data in the “Search the campaign funders of Tennessee’s state politicians” flourish chart.

The Lookout’s lobbying expenditures data (from Jan. 1, 2010, to June 30, 2024) with merged name is available for download.

Data on independent expenditures (from Jan. 16. 2010 to Jan. 15, 2025). (58.1 MB)

Click here for the link to the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance campaign contribution and expenses website.

Click here for the link to the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance lobbying website.

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

The post Cash for Clout database: Who’s funding Tennessee’s politics? appeared first on tennesseelookout.com

Up Next

Hemp industry fears slate of restrictive bills could gut industry

Don't Miss

Stockard on the Stump: Tennessee Republicans hooked on Musk-Trump slashing

News from the South - Tennessee News Feed

Driving through severe weather in Middle Tennessee

Published

11 hours ago

March 15, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – WKRN News 2 – 2025-03-15 18:02:35

SUMMARY: Sam Kenti is reporting live from a storm tracker vehicle south of Murphysboro, Tennessee, where heavy rainfall and flooding are prevalent. Currently on State Route 268, Kenti is approaching White County, which is under a tornado watch. While there has been consistent rain and overflowing creeks, no significant damage has been observed so far. However, the threat of flooding is a major concern, especially in residential areas near Murphysboro, where water levels are rising. Kenti emphasizes the need for caution as they navigate the secondary roads, monitoring conditions as they drive toward Sparta.

News 2 has a crew in the StormTracker checking out the severe weather in Middle Tennessee.

Source

News from the South - Tennessee News Feed

Construction impacts family-owned restaurant in Gallatin

Published

2 days ago

March 14, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – WKRN News 2 – 2025-03-14 16:59:49

SUMMARY: A family-owned restaurant in Gallatin, Martin’s Chicken and Waffles, is struggling to survive due to road construction outside their business. Owners Artha and Mo Martin say the noise from the construction, which they were not warned about, has made it difficult for them to continue. They have adjusted their hours, but business remains tough, especially after the impact of COVID-19. The restaurant, once a popular food truck, is a local favorite but is now facing financial strain. Gallatin’s mayor supports the Martins, acknowledging the importance of the roadwork but encouraging a compromise to assist small businesses. They’ve launched a GoFundMe for help.

A family-owned restaurant in Gallatin is pleading with the community to help them stay open.

Source

News from the South - Tennessee News Feed

Retired Shelby County judge fires back at criticism over releasing suspects on own recognizance

Published

2 days ago

March 14, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – FOX13 Memphis – 2025-03-14 14:54:53

SUMMARY: Retired Shelby County Judge Bill Anderson is responding to criticism over his decision to release suspects on their own recognizance, particularly in violent crime cases. Anderson defended his actions, stating that the law required such releases, except for capital murder cases. He pointed to his accomplishments, including creating the veterans court, but faced backlash from state Senator Brent Taylor. Anderson criticized Taylor for misunderstanding the implications of his decisions, while Taylor accused Anderson of targeting young black males with his actions. Despite controversy, Anderson stands by his career choices and decisions during his time on the bench.

Weeks after he left the bench, retired Shelby County Judge Bill Anderson sat down with FOX13 to talk about his time in the courtroom. Towards the end of his career, many people criticized Anderson for his willingness to release defendants on their own recognizance, or without paying a monetary fine to be released. READ MORE: https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/former-judge-bill-anderson-fires-back-at-state-senator-amid-criticism/article_f22c6194-004e-11f0-aef0-9fdeba546905.html

ABOUT FOX13 MEMPHIS:
FOX13 Memphis is your home for breaking news, live video, traffic, weather and your guide to everything local for the Mid-South.

CONNECT WITH FOX 13 MEMPHIS:
Visit the FOX13 Memphis WEBSITE: https://www.fox13memphis.com/
Like FOX13 Memphis on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/fox13news.myfoxmemphis
Follow FOX13 Memphis on TWITTER: https://twitter.com/FOX13Memphis
Follow FOX13 Memphis on INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/fox13memphis

Source