State politics
Powers began his campaign for the Tennessee Senate on January 11,2019,due to Tennessee Senator Mark Green stepping down from his position,causing a vacancy. [3] On March 7,Powers won the Republican primary with 39.1% of the vote. [4] On April 23,Powers won the general election with 53.6% of the vote,defeating Democrat Juanita Charles and Independent candidates Doyle Clark and David Cutting. [5] [6] Powers was sworn in on April 25,on the same day he voted in favor of governor Bill Lee's education savings account legislation. [7]
On February 14,2020,Powers co-sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 723,which called for the Tennessee Valley Authority,United States Army Corps of Engineers,and other federal authorities to join Tennessee in "aggressively addressing the Asian carp invasion in Tennessee waterways." [8] On May 11,Powers announced that the Tennessee Department of Health had received $118,309 to expand COVID-19 testing into Stewart County,to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. [9]
