It was one and done for local educator Kevin Dunlap as the state representative was bounced from office by political newcomer Paul Sherrell.
Dunlap, who won the 43rd District seat in the state House by a narrow margin two years ago, lost by over 1,000 votes to Sherrell, a White County Republican.
“I want to praise the good Lord,” said Sherrell after being swept in office by two of the three counties which make up the district. “I felt like this is what the Lord wanted me to do at this point in my life.”
Sherrell won huge in his home White County by a count of 6,368 to 3,182. He also won in Grundy County by a count of 2,368 to 1,941.
Dunlap, a Rock Island resident, won his home Warren County by a total of 5,086 to 2,935. When Dunlap won two years ago he carried Grundy County. At the end of the night, the final count for the whole district was 11,671 for Sherrell and 10,209 for Dunlap, meaning Sherrell won with 53 percent of the vote.
“I want to thank our voters but we fell a little bit short this time,” Dunlap said. “I want to thank Warren County for standing with us. It means a lot.”
Dunlap said he is proud of his record during his term in Nashville. He pointed to road projects he helped get for the district, including a new Hennessee Bridge to be constructed.
With Dunlap’s loss, there is no longer a Warren County resident on Capitol Hill. We are served by two out-of-county state representatives. Judd Matheny is from Tullahoma, while Sherrell is from White County. Our representative in the state Senate is Janice Bowling, who lives in Tullahoma.