The Montgomery County mayor cast a tie-breaking vote Monday to appoint the next Tennessee District 75 state house representative. The vote took five rounds. Six candidates were seeking the appointment.
Montgomery County Commissioner Michael Lankford will fill the seat left vacant after Rep. Jeff Burkhart was found dead last month. He died during his second term in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
“I appreciate the confidence the commission has in me and I look forward to working with this body in the future,” Lankford said after Monday night’s vote.
Lankford represented District 6 in Montgomery County prior to his appointment to the vacant House seat. Tennessee law requires Lankford to step down from that role to serve in the Tennessee House, according to Mayor Wes Golden. Golden said the commission will vote soon to appoint his replacement.
Republican Lankford will serve in the House through the next election cycle. He will be required to run in the state primary in August to qualify for the general election ballot next November.
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The mayor’s tie-breaking vote pushed the vote in favor of Lankford over Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair Allie Phillips. Phillips ran as a Democrat against Burkhart in 2024 for the seat, but lost by a 55-45% margin.
“It’s been a long few weeks, but it feels great to be able to represent the town I grew up in and to have the confidence of the commission,” Lankford told Clarksville Now. “I just look forward to continuing to work with the commission as a whole, and promoting Montgomery County as best I can in Nashville.”
