Ronald Lynn "Ron" Ramsey (born November 20, 1955) is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee and Speaker of the State Senate. A Republican from Blountville in East Tennessee, Ramsey succeeded long-term Democratic Lieutenant Governor John S. Wilder in 2007, who had held the office of Lieutenant Governor since 1971.

Tennesseans do not elect their lieutenant governor; rather, the Speaker of the Senate, who is second in the line of succession to the governor, is granted the title by statute.

Early years[link]

Ramsey graduated from Sullivan Central High School in 1973, and later obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in 1978, majoring in Industrial Technology at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. He is a member of the advisory board of the Farm Credit Association, a former president of the Blountville Business Association, and a former president and current member of the Bristol TN-VA Association of Realtors. He currently works as a real estate broker and an auctioneer.

State government[link]

Ramsey represents Senate District 2, which encompasses Johnson and Sullivan counties in East Tennessee.

He was elected to the General Assembly as a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1992, and served two terms. During his time as a state representative, Ramsey represented the 1st district, composed of Sullivan County. He was elected to the state Senate in 1996^[1] and was reelected in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

In 2007, Ramsey garnered the support all of the GOP senators and one Democratic senator, Rosalind Kurita of Clarksville, in the vote for speakership of the Senate. He won with 18 votes to 15 for Wilder. He is the first Republican to serve as speaker of the Senate in 140 years.^[2] Ramsey appointed Kurita as speaker pro tempore in return for her support. Ramsey was reelected as speaker of the Senate of the 106th General Assembly in 2009 by a vote of 19–14 making him the longest serving Republican Lt. Governor in Tennessee state history.

Ramsey sparked statewide controversy in 2005 for two actions. He was allegedly videotaped speeding through Knoxville in his Cadillac, traveling on I-40 East at 92 mph (148 km/h). The videotape was made by Keith Jones, a Republican who sells speed-detecting radar equipment to law enforcement agencies.^[3] Second, in February 2005 he introduced a bill (2005 SB0698)^[4] to change county wheel tax legislation to give Tennessee county commissioners the sole authority to enact wheel taxes by majority vote, thus taking away the ability of voters to decide on local wheel tax in referendums.

During the 2004 election cycle, Ramsey was one of a few prominent Tennessee General Assembly leadership members who accepted campaign contributions from both the Jack Daniel's PAC and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee PAC.^[5][6]

In 2008, Ramsey endorsed Fred Thompson for President of the United States.^[7]

2010 candidacy for governor[link]

On February 28, 2009, Ramsey announced that he would run for the Republican nomination for governor of Tennessee.^[8]

In July 2010, twenty tea party organizations, half of the about 40 tea party groups in Tennessee, endorsed Ramsey for governor because of his stances on state sovereignty, health care, immigration and fiscal issues.^[9]

On July 14, 2010, Ramsey said that states would have to deal with attempts to bring Sharia law to the U.S. "But you cross the line when they start trying to bring Sharia law into the United States. Now, you could even argue whether being a Muslim is actually a religion, or is it a nationality, way of life, cult, whatever you want to call it. Now certainly we do protect our religions, but at the same time this is something we are going to have to face."^[10]

On August 5, 2010, Ramsey finished third, receiving 22% votes of the total for the GOP Nomination in the state of Tennessee.

References[link]

Sources[link]

• "Lieutenant governor's contest may be a mystery worth decoding". Larry Daughtrey. The Tennessean. May 28, 2006.
• "3) Pharmacists For Life Joins International Boycott" Life Communications. November, 1994.
• "Campaign Finance Reform Bill Fails". Andy Spears. May 3, 2005.
• "John Gregory uses checkbook to promote conservative causes". Hank Haynes. September 3, 2006.
• "Faith Healers: The born-again Gregory brothers worked a financial miracle from cast-off drug brands". Forbes. Zina Moukheiber. October 28, 2002.
• "Campaign gift spat touches the governor". Tennessean. Bonna de la Cruz. October 2, 2004.

External links[link]

• Gubernatorial Campaign Site
• Ron Ramsey's profile at the Tennessee General Assembly
• Ron Ramsey's archived profile as a state representative
• Search the Tennessee Online Campaign Finance Database for records filed by Ramsey
• Tennessee Legislative Bills Sponsored and Co-sponsored by Senator Ron Ramsey