# Rusty Grills

Rusty Grills is a Republican member of the Tennessee House for district 77.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: Tennessee House, district 77
- Serving since: 2020-01-14
- Current term: TN 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/d00c0511-6872-4f2a-9d48-cf8d2a60e199

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/d00c0511-6872-4f2a-9d48-cf8d2a60e199 (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

Grills sits at +0.83 on the CSIP scale, more conservative than 97% of State House Republicans.

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

5 classified statements: 5 posts on X. Each rate is the share of statements with the label, against the State House Republicans average; rank 1 is the highest rate.

| Label | Grills | State House Republicans average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.9% | 643 of 792 |
| Policy criticism | 20.0% | 9.3% | 110 of 792 |
| Policy discussion | 60.0% | 31.9% | 50 of 792 |
| Bipartisanship | 0.0% | 1.8% | 678 of 792 |
| Credit claiming | 0.0% | 12.7% | 764 of 792 |
| Extreme labels | 0.0% | 1.4% | 619 of 792 |

Most discussed policy areas: Agriculture and Food 100% (State House Republicans 4.4%); Economics and Public Finance 33% (State House Republicans 12%); Armed Forces and National Security 0% (State House Republicans 4.9%); Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues 0% (State House Republicans 6.2%); Commerce 0% (State House Republicans 3.9%).

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score +0.83 (standard error 0.03), from 217 donors and 970 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 97% of State House Republicans score lower.

## Votes (TN 2025–26 session)

4,291 roll calls. Attendance 99.9% (Tennessee House 99.1%). Party unity 99.0% (96.3%). 35 votes against the party majority.

Key votes:

- 2026-05-06 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: REFER TO COMMITTEE 5/6/2026 Passed · HJR 8 Memorials, Death - U.S. Senator James Ralph Sasser - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR8/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: MESSAGE CALENDAR 2 CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENT # 4 4/23/2026 Passed · HB 2111 Correctional Programs - As enacted, creates the state families of incarcerated individuals advisory board within the department of correction for the… · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB2111/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: CONSENT CALENDAR 4 PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/23/2026 Passed · SJR 1209 Memorials, Academic Achievement - Max Christopher Collins, Salutatorian, Creek Wood High School - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1209/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: CONSENT CALENDAR 3 PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/23/2026 Passed · SJR 1240 Memorials, Interns - Aaron Sullivan - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1240/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: CONSENT CALENDAR 4 PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/23/2026 Passed · SJR 1208 Memorials, Academic Achievement - Christopher Heath Foster, Valedictorian, Creek Wood High School - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1208/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: CONSENT CALENDAR 4 PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/23/2026 Passed · SJR 1220 Memorials, Academic Achievement - Keely Nicole Melton, Valedictorian, McEwen High School - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1220/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: CONSENT CALENDAR 4 PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/23/2026 Passed · SJR 1198 Memorials, Academic Achievement - Kylie Miller, Valedictorian, McNairy Central High School - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SJR1198/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/23/2026 Passed · SB 1849 Local Government, General - As enacted, enacts the "Essential Governmental Employee Housing Act of 2026"; makes related changes. - Amends TCA Title 5;… · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/SB1849/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: CONSENT CALENDAR 2 PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/23/2026 Passed · HJR 1657 Memorials, Academic Achievement - Dahee Yoon, Salutatorian, Cookeville High School - · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1657/
- 2026-04-23 · voted yea · FLOOR VOTE: MOTION TO ADOPT CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT 4/23/2026 Passed · HB 1707 Immigration - As enacted, requires, until February 1, 2029, each court to cooperate with the U.S. department of homeland security and federal… · pass · https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB1707/

## Legislation (TN 2025–26 session)

Sponsored 47 bills: 43 reached committee, 28 passed one chamber, 22 passed both, 21 became law. Cosponsored 0. 76.6% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Tennessee House 71.0%; rank 43 of 97).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HR 195: Memorials, Recognition - Stanley Gordon Jones II - (passed one chamber, 2026-04-15) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HR195/
- HJR 1341: Memorials, Sports - Dyersburg High School Lady Trojans, 2026 TSSAA Division I, Class AAA basketball state champions - (became law, 2026-04-30) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1341/
- HB 2650: Obion County - Subject to local approval, clarifies that the county highway superintendent of the county highway department be appointed by the county… (became law, 2026-05-27) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB2650/
- HB 2472: Criminal Offenses - As introduced, defines "criminally negligent conduct,” as used in the offense of criminally negligent homicide, to include failing or… (in committee, 2026-03-25) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB2472/
- HB 2513: Tourist Development, Dept. of - As introduced, requires a copy of an annual audit report prepared by certain organizations under the department to be… (in committee, 2026-03-18) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB2513/
- HB 2512: Education - As introduced, requires the state to elect to participate in the federal tax credit established under federal law for individuals who make… (in committee, 2026-02-05) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB2512/
- HB 2251: Judges and Chancellors - As enacted, creates a pilot project to provide for criminal magistrates in the 10 counties in which the criminal courts experience… (became law, 2026-05-26) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB2251/
- HB 2252: Agriculture, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the department to promulgate rules to implement and administer a voluntary program for the promotion of meat and… (in committee, 2026-05-04) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB2252/
- HB 1981: State Symbols - As enacted, designates Lake County as the "Eagle Capital of Tennessee." - Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 1, Part 3. (passed one chamber, 2026-04-27) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB1981/
- HB 1983: Water Authorities - As introduced, establishes that public water systems have a maximum allowable hardwater level of 180 mg/L, measured as calcium carbonate… (in committee, 2026-03-18) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB1983/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $91.7K (State House Republicans median $33.7K). 100% 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.

- 2025-11-06 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/rustygrills/status/1986493794456330352
- 2025-11-06 · Post on X · labels: policy criticism, policy discussion · https://x.com/rustygrills/status/1986494266202284228
- 2025-11-06 · Post on X · labels: policy discussion · https://x.com/rustygrills/status/1986494498277593363
- 2025-11-06 · Post on X · https://x.com/rustygrills/status/1986495750662983852
- 2025-09-14 · Post on X · https://x.com/rustygrills/status/1967021002342494444

## Links

- Official site: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/legislatorinfo/member.aspx?district=H77
- Campaign site: https://rustygrillsfortn.com/
- X: https://x.com/rustygrills
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rustygrillsforstaterepresentative/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rusty.grills
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rustygrills/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/d00c0511-6872-4f2a-9d48-cf8d2a60e199