Mary Littleton (born September 7, 1957) is an American politician. A Republican, she has represented District 78 in the Tennessee House of Representatives since January 8, 2013.
Tennessee House of Representatives
Tenure During her time in the General Assembly, Littleton has voted for six balanced budgets, to abolish the death tax, to cut the sales tax on groceries. She also supported a large increase in funding for schools. The NRA Political Victory Fund has given her repeated "A" ratings.
In April 2017, Littleton voted against Governor Haslam's IMPROVE Act, which would help to fund road and infrastructure improvements by raising the gas and diesel tax in the state. The bill would offset those tax hikes by lowering taxes elsewhere. Referring to the state's large surplus, she said, "“When you have that much of a surplus, none of us wanted to raise taxes."
In March 2018, Littleton voted in favor of a bill to legalize medical marijuana during a meeting of the House Criminal Justice Committee. The bill ultimately died on the House floor.
During the 110th General Assembly (2017-2018), Littleton introduced legislation requiring law enforcement agencies to determine if a person arrested is a parent and, if so, if the arrest would leave a child unattended. The bill also requires law enforcement agencies to develop procedures for welfare checks of children who may be endangered by the arrest of their parent/guardian. The legislation became law.
Littleton also sponsored another, this one aimed at stopping the opioid crisis in Tennessee. This piece of legislation allows prosecutors to charge those who sell certain opioids resulting in a death with second-degree murder. The legislation was signed into law.
In 2023, Littleton supported a resolution to expel three Democratic lawmakers from the legislature for violating decorum rules. The expulsion was widely characterized as unprecedented.
Committee assignments During the 111th General Assembly, Littleton served on the following committees.
House Judiciary Committee
Subcommittee on Children and Families, Chair
House State Government Committee
Subcommittee on Departments & Agencies
House Government Operations Committee
Electoral history +General ElectionsYearRepublican Nominee%Democratic Nominee%Independent%2012Mary Littleton58.0Linda Hayes34.9Rick Wilson7.12014Mary Littleton70.7Jen Crisp29.32016Mary Littleton74.1Travis Staten25.92018Mary Littleton69.0John Patrick30.92020Marry Littleton72.3Holly Spann27.72022Marry Littleton73.6Krystle James26.42024Marry Littleton74.1Deborah Castle Doyle25.9 Republican Primaries
In 2012, incumbent Republican Representative Phillip Johnson retired. Littleton ran in the seven-way August 2, 2012 Republican Primary, winning with 1,273 votes (21.4%) Littleton has been unopposed in the Republican primaries in every election from 2014 until 2018.
In the 2020 election, Littleton faced James Ebb Gupton during the Republican primaries.
Other offices Littleton was a member of the Tennessee Republican Party State Executive Committee from 2002 to 2014, and served as vice-chairwoman from 2010 to 2014.
Before that, she served as Chairwoman of the Dickson County Republican Party.
In 2015, Littleton ran for Chair of the Tennessee Republican Party.
Personal life Littleton has four adult children.
Littleton is currently serving, or has served, on the following boards/groups in the community. Tennessee's Safe Baby Court Advisory Committee Tennessee's Human Trafficking Advisory Council 23rd District Judicial Child Advocacy Board Dickson County Cancer Board Dickson County Relay for Life Dickson County Zoning and Planning Board Dickson County Sanitation Board Member: Cheatham County Chamber of Commerce Member: Dickson County Chamber of Commerce Dickson High Noon Rotary National Rifle Association of America
References
External links Official page at the Tennessee General Assembly
Mary Littleton at Ballotpedia Mary Littleton at the National Institute on Money in State Politics