A Lakeland resident is among four Republicans seeking former Sen. Mark Norris’s State Senate seat in a special election primary Jan. 24th, according to the Shelby County Election Commission (SCEC).
Heidi Shafer, who lives in Stonebridge, is running in the Tennessee Senate District 32 special primary Jan. 24 with early voting starting Friday (1.4.19). The general election is March 12th.
Mrs. Shafer is a former two-term member of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners and served as chairwoman in 2017-18. She represented District 5 which includes East Memphis and Cordova. Mrs. Shafer is registered to vote in Lakeland and the City is now her home, she said.
Sen. Norris resigned after his appointment by the President as a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee. The special election was announced in November by Gov. Bill Haslam. When a state senate vacancy occurs twelve months or more before the next general election, the governor must call a special election to fill the vacancy within a statutorily-specified time frame.
District 32 consists of Tipton County and part of Shelby County including Lakeland.
Early vote for the primary starts Jan. 4 at the SCEC, 980 Nixon Dr. Early voting at other locations, including The Refuge Church in Lakeland, is Jan. 12 and Jan. 14-19.
Early vote for the March 12th general election begins Feb. 20.
Others seeking the position are Steve McManus of Collierville, George Chism of Collierville and Paul Rose of Covington. The Democratic challenger is Eric R. Coleman from Bartlett.
Link to early voting locations:
https://www.shelbyvote.com/sites/default/files/documents/EV%20Schedule%20Jan.%202019.pdf
