# Steve Southerland

Steve Southerland is a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate for district 9.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: Tennessee Senate, district 9
- Serving since: 2022-11-08
- Current term: TN 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/37dddeca-88ef-4254-b6f2-b2ddd6526665

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/37dddeca-88ef-4254-b6f2-b2ddd6526665 (America’s Political Pulse, Polarization Research Lab), data through 2026-10-27. Data under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Westwood, Sean J., and Yphtach Lelkes. 2024. America's Political Pulse [data set].

## Headline

89% of the 250 bills Southerland sponsored got out of committee, in the top tenth of the Tennessee Senate.

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score +0.45 (standard error 0.04), from 24 donors and 1,073 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 63% of State Senate Republicans score lower.

## Votes (TN 2025–26 session)

4,496 roll calls. Attendance 99.9% (Tennessee Senate 99.6%). Party unity 96.3% (95.3%). 25 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 4/23/2026 Passed · HJR 1530 Memorials, Academic Achievement - Jordyn Brown, Salutatorian, Gordonsville High School - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1530/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 4/23/2026 Passed · SJR 1267 Memorials, Academic Achievement - Liya Rakeshbhai Patel, Valedictorian, Cumberland County High School - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1267/
- 2026-04-23 · voted nay · FLOOR VOTE: Third Consideration 4/23/2026 Failed · HB 2585 Damages - As introduced, states that the amount of damages awarded as noneconomic damages must not exceed $1 million in a health care liability action… · fail · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB2585/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 4/23/2026 Passed · HJR 1578 Memorials, Interns - Indian Clay - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1578/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 4/23/2026 Passed · SJR 1268 Memorials, Academic Achievement - Nicolo Azzani, Salutatorian, Cumberland County High School - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1268/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 4/23/2026 Passed · HJR 1539 Memorials, Retirement - Dickson County Mayor Robert "Bob" Rial - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1539/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 4/23/2026 Passed · SJR 1247 Memorials, Sports - Reese McCann - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1247/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 4/23/2026 Passed · HJR 1564 Memorials, Retirement - Jackie Wilkerson - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1564/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 4/23/2026 Passed · SJR 1250 Memorials, Recognition - Tom Midyett - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1250/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: Motion to Adopt 4/23/2026 Passed · SJR 1278 Memorials, Academic Achievement - Emma Sue Gray, Valedictorian, Stone Memorial High School - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1278/

## Legislation (TN 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 250 bills: 250 reached committee, 217 passed one chamber, 212 passed both, 212 became law. Cosponsored 0. 88.8% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Tennessee Senate 70.0%; rank 3 of 33).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SJR 1261: Memorials, Sports - Hannah Marsh, SAC All-Conference First Team - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1261/
- SJR 1258: Memorials, Sports - Qitarah Castlin - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1258/
- SJR 1262: Memorials, Sports - Brynn Smith, SAC All-Conference Second Team - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1262/
- SJR 1263: Memorials, Sports - Sylvia Liszewski, SAC All-Conference Second Team - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1263/
- SJR 1260: Memorials, Sports - Sofia Vega Barrantes - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1260/
- SJR 1259: Memorials, Sports - Team Leroy - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1259/
- SJR 1246: Memorials, Sports - Rens Verhaar - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1246/
- SJR 1244: Memorials, Sports - Jackson Simmons - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1244/
- SJR 1245: Memorials, Recognition - Rebecca Tipton, Boys & Girls Clubs Hall of Fame - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1245/
- SJR 1247: Memorials, Sports - Reese McCann - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1247/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $92.8K (State Senate Republicans median $46.2K). 100% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Links

- Official site: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/legislatorinfo/member.aspx?district=S9&ga=114

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/37dddeca-88ef-4254-b6f2-b2ddd6526665