# Bo Watson

Bo Watson is a Republican member of the Tennessee Senate for district 11.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: Tennessee Senate, district 11
- Serving since: 2007-01-09
- Current term: TN 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/86d5ff12-369b-41a4-9626-237425063c1b

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/86d5ff12-369b-41a4-9626-237425063c1b (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

Watson reported $355.4K in the 2026 cycle, in the top quarter of State Senate Republicans (median $46.2K).

## What Watson says (TN 2025–26 session)

209 classified statements: 209 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State Senate Republicans average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Watson | State Senate Republicans average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.3% | 272 of 354 |
| Policy criticism | 2.4% | 9.5% | 255 of 354 |
| Policy discussion | 38.8% | 37.3% | 165 of 354 |
| Bipartisanship | 1.9% | 2.3% | 152 of 354 |
| Credit claiming | 20.6% | 15.4% | 107 of 354 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 1.3% | 261 of 354 |

Most discussed policy areas: Education 23% (State Senate Republicans 14%); Government Operations and Politics 20% (State Senate Republicans 17%); Health 19% (State Senate Republicans 9.1%); Economics and Public Finance 14% (State Senate Republicans 12%); Science, Technology, Communications 9.9% (State Senate Republicans 2.5%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score +0.49 (standard error 0.03), from 317 donors and 1,130 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 69% of State Senate Republicans score lower.

## Votes (TN 2025–26 session)

4,231 roll calls. Attendance 100% (Tennessee Senate 99.6%). Party unity 99.0% (95.3%). 17 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 · HJR 1658 Memorials, Academic Achievement - Kadence Saige Phillips, Salutatorian, Monterey High School - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1658/

## Legislation (TN 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 110 bills: 110 reached committee, 46 passed one chamber, 39 passed both, 36 became law. Cosponsored 0. 69.1% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Tennessee Senate 70.0%; rank 21 of 33).

Recent sponsored bills:

- SR 433: Memorials, Interns - Lily Gale - (passed one chamber, 2026-04-30) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SR433/
- SJR 1174: Memorials, Recognition - Hoppy's North River Corner Market, Best Classic Burger - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1174/
- SJR 1234: Memorials, Death - Deputy Landon Faulkner, Hamilton County Sheriff's Office - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1234/
- SJR 1146: Memorials, Death - Chad Allen Young - (became law, 2026-05-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1146/
- SR 399: Memorials, Recognition - Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) Awareness Day, May 17 - (passed one chamber, 2026-04-23) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SR399/
- SJR 949: Memorials, Recognition - Laura Jane Travis - (became law, 2026-04-16) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR949/
- SJR 812: Memorials, Recognition - Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) Awareness Day, May 17 - (passed one chamber, 2026-03-23) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR812/
- SJR 813: Memorials, Recognition - Amanda and Erik Neil, owners of MICHELIN Guide restaurants Little Coyote, Easy Bistro, and Main Street Meats - (became law, 2026-03-18) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR813/
- SJR 814: Memorials, Retirement - Howard J. Kittell - (became law, 2026-03-18) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR814/
- SJR 815: Memorials, Recognition - Andrew Jackson Foundation, 125th anniversary - (became law, 2026-03-18) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR815/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $355.4K (State Senate Republicans median $46.2K). 98% of itemized individual money came from in state. Aggregates only; no individual donors.

## Recent statements

Newest first. Posts on X are listed by date and link only.

- 2026-10-26 · Post on X · https://x.com/SenBoWatson/status/2114709400686313718
- 2026-10-15 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenBoWatson/status/2110752178138648632
- 2026-10-14 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenBoWatson/status/2110363510832345147
- 2026-10-12 · Post on X · https://x.com/SenBoWatson/status/2109694370157089262
- 2026-10-05 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenBoWatson/status/2107113609776316828
- 2026-10-03 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenBoWatson/status/2106432294869192958
- 2026-10-02 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenBoWatson/status/2106033063108993045
- 2026-09-30 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenBoWatson/status/2105369736657654139
- 2026-09-28 · Post on X · https://x.com/SenBoWatson/status/2104581243543445547
- 2026-09-25 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/SenBoWatson/status/2103478872243122602

## Links

- Official site: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/legislatorinfo/member.aspx?district=S11&ga=114
- Campaign site: https://www.bofortn.com/
- X: https://x.com/SenBoWatson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SenBoWatson/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bofortennessee/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bo-watson-a649695

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/86d5ff12-369b-41a4-9626-237425063c1b