Rush Bricken

B. Rush Bricken
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 47th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2019
Preceded byJudd Matheny
Personal details
Born (1951-08-04) August 4, 1951 (age 73)
Political partyRepublican
Residence(s)Tullahoma, Tennessee
EducationAuburn University (BS)
Vanderbilt University (MBA)
WebsiteOfficial website
Campaign website

B. Rush Bricken (born August 4, 1951) is an American banker and politician from the state of Tennessee. A Republican, Bricken has represented the 47th district of the Tennessee House of Representatives, based in Tullahoma and McMinnville, since 2019.[1][2]

Early life

Bricken was born in 1951, and was one of five children. He received a BS from Auburn University in 1973 and later, while working in banking, an MBA from the Vanderbilt University Owen School of Management.[3]

Career

Bricken has spent most of his career as a banker, also working as a CPA in the 1990s and early 2000s. Since 2010, he has been the CEO of Coffee County Bank in Manchester.[4] He has also served as a Coffee County Commissioner since 1988.

In 2017, Bricken announced he would run for the 47th district of the Tennessee House of Representatives, which was left open after incumbent Judd Matheny announced his campaign for Tennessee's 6th congressional district.[5] Bricken narrowly won the Republican primary election over Ronnie Holden and proceeded to win the general election in a landslide over Democrat Mike Winton.[6] He was sworn in on January 8, 2019.

In 2023, Bricken supported a resolution to expel two of three Democratic lawmakers from the legislature for violating decorum rules. He voted to expel the two young black men, but not the one white woman. The expulsion was widely characterized as unprecedented.[7]

Personal life

Bricken lives in Tullahoma with his wife, Belinda; they have four children and four grandchildren.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Representative Rush Bricken". Tennessee General Assembly. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  2. ^ "Rush Bricken". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  3. ^ "Rush Bricken's Biography". VoteSmart. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "About Rush". Rush Bricken, State Representative. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  5. ^ "Coffee County commissioner enters state House race to replace Matheny". The Manchester Times. September 27, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  6. ^ Staff report (November 6, 2018). "Updated election results: Lee wins governor's race; Blackburn takes Senate seat". The Tullahoma Times. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  7. ^ Andone, Dakin; Young, Ryan; Simonson, Amy; Almasy, Steve. "Tennessee's Republican-led House expels 2 Democratic lawmakers over gun reform protest, fails in bid to oust a third". CNN. Retrieved 2023-04-07.