Bud Hulsey

Bud Hulsey was born on May 30, 1949, and he attended Durango High School as a Durango Demon from 1964 to his 1967 graduation. Hulsey later attended Bob Jones University at Greenville, South Carolina from 1967 to 1972 where was a member of the "Byran" (William Jennings Bryan Literary Society at Bob Jones University) men's society and where he also obtained his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in education.^[1]

Bud Hulsey is a retired Kingsport Police lieutenant with post graduate work at the University of Virginia via the FBI National Academy.^[1]

He is the owner and President of Burlington Logistics, Inc., a trucking company located in the Tri-Cities area of East Tennessee.^[2]

Hulsey was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives as a member of the 109th General Assembly in 2014 after defeating three-term incumbent Tony Shipley^[3] in the Republican primary and Independent J.R. Enfield in the general election.^[3] He was again elected to serve in the 110th General Assembly in 2016 after a victory over Democratic challenger J.S. Moore.^[4] On November 6, 2018, Hulsey was re-elected to serve in the 111th General Assembly after defeating Democratic challenger Arvil Love, Jr. and Independent challenger Robert Ellis in the General Election.^[4] The second district proved its loyalty to Hulsey yet again on November 3, 2020, when they overwhelmingly supported him against repeat challenger Arvil Love, Jr. in the general election.^[4] He has since been re-elected uncontested.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he proposed legislation to prohibit mandatory COVID-19 vaccination.^[5]

In 2023, the Tennessee House voted on motions to remove three sitting Democratic representatives — Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson — for disrupting proceedings with a protest as citizens were at the capitol voicing their outrage over a mass shooting at a Nashville school that left six dead.^[6] Hulsey voted in favor of all three resolutions: HR 63, to remove Pearson;^[7] HR 64, to remove Johnson;^[8] and HR 65, to remove Jones.^[9] Pearson and Jones were expelled, while Johnson was not.^[10]

In 2024, Hulsey proposed to ban lab-grown meat. He argued that exposing humans to lab-grown meat was a violation of the Nuremberg Code (a set of ethical research principles for human experimentation established in the wake of Nazi experiments on humans).^[11]

Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2014

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bud Hulsey	12,249	84.2
	Independent	J.R. Enfield	2,302	15.8

Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2016

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bud Hulsey	20,334	80.5
	Democratic	J.S. Moore	4,940	19.6

Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bud Hulsey	17,444	75.9
	Democratic	Arvil Love, Jr.	4,966	21.6
	Independent	Robert Ellis	572	2.5

Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bud Hulsey	23,278	77.1
	Democratic	Arvil Love, Jr.	6,902	22.9

Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2022

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bud Hulsey	15,359	99.6
	Other (United States)	Write-in	63	0.4

Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2024

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bud Hulsey	26,619	100

Hulsey serves in the 114th General Assembly as:

• Chair, Appropriations and Oversight Committee^[1]
• Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee^[1]
• Member, Private Acts Committee^[1]
• Member, Finance, Ways, and Means Committee^[1]

Hulsey served in the 113th General Assembly as:

• Chair, Criminal Justice Committee^[1]
• Member, Criminal Justice Subcommittee^[1]
• Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee^[1]
• Member, Agriculture and National Resources Subcommittee^[1]
• Member, Calendars and Rules Committee*Member^[1]

Hulsey served in the 112th General Assembly as:

• Chair, Corrections Subcommittee^[1]
• Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee^[1]
• Member, Agriculture and National Resources Subcommittee^[1]
• Member, Criminal Justice Subcommittee^[1]
• Member, State Government Committee^[1]

Hulsey served in the 111th General Assembly as:

• Chair, Corrections Subcommittee^[1]
• Member, State Committee^[1]
• Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee^[1]
• Member, Agriculture and National Resources Subcommittee^[1]
• Member, Judiciary Committee^[1]
• Member, Public Safety Committee of Extraordinary Session II^[1]

Hulsey served in the 110th General Assembly as:

• Vice-chair, House State Government Committee^[1]
• Member, House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee^[1]
• Member, House State Government Committee^[1]

Hulsey served in the 109th General Assembly as:

• Member, House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee^[1]
• Member, House State Government Committee^[1]
• Member, House State Government Subcommittee^[1]

• In July 2014, Hulsey lost his campaign chair, former Tennessee State Representative Michael Locke, in a hit and run incident by a drunk driver.^[12]