Bruce Manuel
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Bruce Manuel (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Tennessee House of Representatives to represent District 39. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Manuel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Bruce Manuel earned a bachelor's degree from the University of the South in 1980. He earned a graduate degree from the University of New Orleans in 2004.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Tennessee House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 39
Incumbent Iris Rudder defeated Bruce Manuel in the general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 39 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Iris Rudder (R) | 76.7 | 14,207 |
 | Bruce Manuel (D)  | 23.3 | 4,309 | |
| Total votes: 18,516 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 39
Bruce Manuel advanced from the Democratic primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 39 on August 4, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bruce Manuel | 100.0 | 2,148 |
| Total votes: 2,148 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 39
Incumbent Iris Rudder advanced from the Republican primary for Tennessee House of Representatives District 39 on August 4, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Iris Rudder | 100.0 | 6,924 |
| Total votes: 6,924 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Bruce Manuel completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Manuel's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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This is my first time running for public office. I am not a career politician, rather I am a private citizen who has watched the political system within the state of Tennessee become less and less accountable to the voters. This situation has got to change.
I decided to run partly because my entire adult life has been serving my country 20 years in the United States Navy and 10 years as a civil servant. I moved to Tennessee after retiring. I am originally for Houston, TX and attended the University of the South in Sewanee, TN. When I moved here I was appalled at how the super majority Republican legislature has consistently made decisions that are hurting the quality of life for our citizens. This state, this country needs to get back to a place whereby those who serve in public office do so to carry out the will of the people who elected them. I don't see that happening here in this state. What I see are politicians who are smug and unwilling to listen to their voters. Instead, they only pledge their allegiance to dark money donors.
- I would seek to overturn the Tennessee law banning abortion. I believe in a woman's right to bodily autonomy and their right to choose what is best for their healthcare and life.
- Teachers earn roughly 20% less than comparably educated professionals on average. In Tennessee, that number is 21.4% and our underfunded education system has consistently ranked between 44th-46th. We must increase teacher pay and funding for public schools.
- I support the decriminalization of marijuana and believe the decision to not allow the retail sale of the product is a mistake. The state of Tennessee could be getting so much revenue from such sales and use that money to improve the lives the citizens of this state.
1. I am very very passionate about there being free and fair elections. The Republican party in the state has abandoned any attempt to make elections fair in Tennessee. As many states, Republican are using gerrymandering of political districts to give themselves and advantage by diluting the minority vote which usually votes Democrat. The gutting of the Voting Rights Acts and obstruction in the US Congress of voter protection legislation is repulsive.
2. I am passionate about a woman's right to bodily autonomy. It is wrong for the few right-wing Supreme Court justices to overture Roe vs Wade. This act will destroy the lives of many people and impose hardships on families in this country who already are struggling to survive in this economy and recovering the pandemic.
3. I believe that we desperately need sensible gun control legislation in this country. We need universal background checks. We need to restrict the sale of firearms to persons under 21 years of age. We need to outlaw high-capacity magazines and I believe we need to ban the sale of assault rifles to private citizens.
I really look up to President Barack Obama in many ways as a trailblazer. I also admire Senator John McCain because of his record of sacrifice for his country as a POW during the Vietnam War. As a retired naval officer myself, his example really speaks to me.
I remember coming home from kindergarten and my mother was watching the news about the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy. I was only six years old, but I could sense the gravity of the event on everyone.
My very first job was a summer job working in Baylor College of Medicine for a research scientist developing birth control drugs.
The ideal relationship is one where conflicting views of what to do to improve the lives of citizens are discussed in a rational, respectful manner, taking in to account the will of the voters. It should never be the case where they all march lockstep into decision without consideration of dissenting views. It is said, "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions".
No one has all the answers. The current atmosphere in the Tennessee legislature of not allowing any discussion differing of views and ideas, plus the general vindictiveness that is evident in their actions, is toxic and destroying our democracy.
This state is going down a road of creating a system of distinct "haves" and "have-nots". The governor and his cronies are lining their pockets from big money donors and industries with little regard for the safety and welfare of he people of Tennessee. The people of this state are becoming poorer, less educated, and more disenfranchised by his and the Republican supermajority in the legislature. There are no checks and balances to their power. They are on a path to consolidate their rule even more. This is very dangerous.
I don't think a unicameral state legislature is a good idea. We need for there to be checks and balances in the system.
I don't think this should be a prerequisite. I believe we need term limits, because some of the people in the legislature are willing to sell their votes to the highest bidder. The presence of money in our American political system has poisoned our democracy to the point where the voter's voice is almost meaningless.
Here in Franklin County, residents of the unincorporated section called Midway have been battling a local sand
Compromise is an essential part of a functioning democracy. It is the only way for our legislature to deliver policy that can benefit the most people, while accommodating diverse perspectives and interests.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 14, 2022
