# Esther Helton-Haynes

Esther Helton-Haynes is a Republican member of the Tennessee House for district 30.

- Party: Republican
- Seat: Tennessee House, district 30
- Serving since: 2018-11-06
- Current term: TN 2025–26 session
- Open States ID: ocd-person/f0cdd239-6095-49bc-9d82-e8ebd7c10254

Source: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/f0cdd239-6095-49bc-9d82-e8ebd7c10254 (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

48% of the 31 bills Helton-Haynes sponsored got out of committee, in the bottom quarter of the Tennessee House.

## What Helton-Haynes says (TN 2025–26 session)

1 classified statements: 1 post 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 | Helton-Haynes | State House Republicans average | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal attacks | 0.0% | 2.9% | 643 of 792 |
| Policy criticism | 0.0% | 9.3% | 736 of 792 |
| Policy discussion | 0.0% | 31.9% | 780 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 |

## Ideology (CSIP)

CSIP score +0.36 (standard error 0.02), from 108 donors and 1,177 roll calls. Negative is left of 0, positive right of it, on one scale for every official. 51% of State House Republicans score lower.

## Votes (TN 2025–26 session)

4,466 roll calls. Attendance 99.9% (Tennessee House 99.1%). Party unity 98.8% (96.3%). 10 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 31 bills: 29 reached committee, 15 passed one chamber, 15 passed both, 15 became law. Cosponsored 0. 48.4% of sponsored bills got out of committee (Tennessee House 71.0%; rank 84 of 97).

Recent sponsored bills:

- HJR 1533: Memorials, Academic Achievement - Yahir Ozny Miranda Gonzalez, Salutatorian, East Ridge High School - (became law, 2026-05-05) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1533/
- HJR 1534: Memorials, Academic Achievement - Abby Lee Black, Valedictorian, East Ridge High School - (became law, 2026-05-05) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1534/
- HJR 1432: Memorials, Academic Achievement - Emma Grace Crane, Valedictorian, East Hamilton High School - (became law, 2026-04-30) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1432/
- HJR 1431: Memorials, Academic Achievement - Bailey Renee Keene, Salutatorian, East Hamilton High School - (became law, 2026-04-30) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1431/
- HJR 1424: Memorials, Retirement - Susan Bedwell - (became law, 2026-04-30) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1424/
- HJR 1063: Memorials, Retirement - William "Bill" F. Knowles, Hamilton County Clerk - (became law, 2026-03-26) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR1063/
- HJR 965: Memorials, Retirement - East Ridge City Manager J. Scott Miller - (became law, 2026-03-11) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HJR965/
- HB 2259: Health Care - As enacted, specifies that a good faith disclosure of information related to an activity of a quality improvement committee (QIC) made by a… (became law, 2026-05-26) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB2259/
- HB 1955: Insurance, Health, Accident - As introduced, directs the commissioner of commerce and insurance to publish and submit to the general assembly on or before… (in committee, 2026-02-18) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB1955/
- HB 1953: Criminal Offenses - As introduced, removes from the offense of violation of a protective order or restraining order the requirement that the person violating… (in committee, 2026-02-04) https://openstates.org/tn/bills/114/HB1953/

## Campaign money (2026 cycle)

Itemized receipts $105.6K (State House Republicans median $33.7K). 94% 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.

- 2026-09-10 · Post on X · https://x.com/estherhelton5/status/2097852699043660013

## Links

- Official site: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/legislatorinfo/member.aspx?district=H30
- Campaign site: https://www.electesther.com/
- X: https://x.com/estherhelton5
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EstherHeltonD30/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EstherHeltonforEastRidgeCityCouncil/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esther.helton
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/essiebelle60/

Full profile, with every chart and the methods: https://americaspoliticalpulse.com/p/f0cdd239-6095-49bc-9d82-e8ebd7c10254