Rep. Chris Todd, R-Jackson, pictured in the House of Representatives, is facing a primary challenge from former Madison County Mayor Jimmy Harris. (Photo: John Partipilo)
With Tennessee District 73 Republican candidates — incumbent Rep. Chris Todd and Jimmy Harris — on roughly even fundraising ground as the Aug. 1 primary election approaches, political interest groups are putting money into the mix in an attempt to tip the election in Todd’s favor.
Todd has held the District 73 seat – representing a horseshoe-shaped district encompassing portions of Jackson and Madison County in the heart of West Tennessee – since 2018. As former Madison County Mayor of 15 years, Harris is vying to unseat him. With no Democratic contender for the seat, the race boils down to the primary election.
The 2024 election season marks the first time Todd has seen a Republican competitor since the 2018 race, when he bested fellow Republican Jay Bush in the primary (55% to 43%) and handily won the 2018 general election against Democrat James Baxter. Since then, Todd has faced no Republican opposition in the conservative-leaning district and easily defeated Democratic challengers.
Todd has tallied $187,649 in donations from 224 individual donors in 2024, according to campaign finance reports released on July 25. Of that total, $70,350 (37%) of his overall donations came from political action committees, trade associations or businesses.
Harris, who has campaigned on refusing donations from “special interest groups,” reported $186,238 in receipts from 219 individual donors, including $8,250 from businesses (4% of his total donations).
But political interest groups have independently spent $51,651 in support of Todd’s campaign, allowing them to bolster Todd’s candidacy separate from Todd’s campaign while legally sidestepping campaign finance rules that limit direct donations to candidates.
Pro-school voucher groups back Todd
Americans for Prosperity, a libertarian and conservative political advocacy group affiliated with Kansas billionaire Charles Koch, spent $42,550 through the Americans for Prosperity Fund to support Todd this election season.
The group is known to spend big on elections – it was among the largest independent spenders in 2022 and has spent $416,079 in 2024 alone to influence Republican candidate primaries. That includes $8,500 spent in opposition to Harris’ campaign.
The group bought billboards and sent out mailers this spring to support Gov. Bill Lee’s ultimately unsuccessful push to get a universal school voucher program passed during the 2024 legislative session. Lee’s plan, which never made it to a vote, would have allowed any Tennessean access to a $7,200 voucher to attend a private school.
Currently, school voucher programs are limited to Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga thanks to legislation passed in 2019 (Todd is recorded among the lawmakers who narrowly voted to approve the bill in the House, 50-48).
Other independent spenders backing Todd include pro-voucher and charter school group Tennessee Federation for Children ($8,550) and the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund ($550).
We’ve got to look at (school vouchers) affects local school systems and local taxpayers, because if money is taken away from our public schools, which it will be if vouchers come, then how are our schools expected to continue on without asking more money from local taxpayers?
– Jimmy Harris, former Madison County mayor
For his part, Todd said “We’ve never had a bill in the six years I’ve been in the legislature for vouchers.”
He classifies the 2019 legislation as “education savings accounts” (public, per-pupil funds that can be used to pay for education-related expenses for private schooling) and Lee’s endeavor in the Spring as a scholarship program.
Harris said he has “absolutely no problem” with vouchers as a concept, but he is concerned about practical implications.
“We’ve got to look at how it affects local school systems and local taxpayers, because if money is taken away from our public schools, which it will be if vouchers come, then how are our schools expected to continue on without asking more money from local taxpayers?” he said.
Harris said he’s yet to see a bill that plainly lays out the structure of how vouchers would work. “It’s hard to say you’re for something until you see what the details of it are, and how it’s going to be handled.”
Where does the money come from?
Harris said the entities supporting Todd’s campaign have been “heavy donors” to Todd throughout his tenure at the statehouse.
A Tennessee Lookout review of Todd’s campaign finance reports for the last six years shows he has received repeated donations from multiple political action committees and business entities, including:
$8,000 from various PACs associated with payday lender Advance Financial spanning his time in office
$1,000 per year from CoreCivic from 2019 through 2022
$3,000 in total from HCA Healthcare spread over four years
$7,400 from the Home Builders Association of Tennessee from 2020 through 2024
$6,250 total from the Tennessee Association of Realtors from 2018 through 2024
Todd said Friday that “well over two-thirds” of his donations this campaign cycle are from individuals. He said he receives donations from all over — for example, a friend in California supports his campaigns because he appreciates Todd’s leadership in Tennessee, he said.
He frequently receives donations from “folks I don’t even know from around the state that are watching and know what I stand for, and they want to support … making sure our legislature stays conservative and Tennessee stays on the right track,” Todd said.
Harris, who is also running on “Conservative Christian” bonafides, according to his campaign social media, said at least 90% of the contributions he’s accepted are from residents of District 73 or Madison County. “We haven’t accepted any special interest money. We’ve done quite well on our fundraising. I’m very pleased and humbled by the response I’ve gotten from the people in this community,” he said.
In 2024, Todd’s top donors include:
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s political action committee ($13,000)
Jackson Clinic Political Action Committee ($5,000)
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s political action committee ($5,000)
Harvey Walden ($1,800 toward the primary election, and $1,800 toward the general election)
Jimmy Wallace ($1,800 toward the primary election, and $1,800 toward the general election)
Harris’ top donors include:
Robert Helms ($1,800 toward the primary election, $700 toward the general election)
James Exum ($1,800 toward the primary election, $200 toward the general election)
Jesus Mendoza Roofing LLC ($2,000)
Arrington Funeral Directors Founder Bob Arrington ($1,800)
Jackson-Madison County Board of Education Representative James Campbell III ($1,800)
Harris also received a handful of donations from people affiliated with West Tennessee Healthcare, including:
Curtis Mansfield (board member) $1600
Tina Prescott (CEO of Jackson-Madison County Hospital) $1800
Bruce Burch (husband of Vicki Burch, secretary of the West TN Healthcare Board) $250
Danny Wheeler (board member) $750
