Kevin Abourezk
ICT
A Choctaw state legislator seeking re-election in Tennessee enjoyed a quiet evening Thursday as he ran unopposed in the state’s primary election.
Tennessee state Rep. Bryan Terry didn’t have a Republican opponent on Thursday’s ballot and heads to the November general election against Democratic nominee Matt Ferry for a two-year term. Terry previously beat Ferry in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024.
The Choctaw Nation citizen told ICT that he has always sought to empower Native people as a state representative. Terry has been in office since 2014, representing a district that covers part of Rutherford County and a part of the city of Murfreesboro, located in central Tennessee.
“The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law by Tennessean and president, Andrew Jackson, and the Choctaw Nation was the first tribe that was removed,” he said. “So you know when I walk through those halls and I see the statues of Andrew Jackson, I realize the importance of me being in the General Assembly, and my voice that I can have for Native Americans is something that 22 centuries ago was not wanted, and now I’m there.”
In July 2025, Tennessee House Bill 1904, which Terry sponsored, went into effect. The law ensures that even if the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, of 1978 was changed, the state of Tennessee would continue to adhere to the original law. He said he decided to sponsor the bill after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Haaland v. Brackeen to reject challenges brought by the state of Texas, individual foster parents, and a birth mother against ICWA.
“Obviously, other states have tried to challenge the Indian Child Welfare Act, and I think it’s important that the state of Tennessee, obviously when we were responsible for the Indian Removal Act that we ought to lead in protecting Indian child welfare,” Terry said.
Tennessee has a Republican majority in the House, and Terry serves as chair of the House Health Committee, has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Oklahoma, graduated medical school from the Oklahoma College of Medicine and performed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
If re-elected in November, Terry said he would continue to seek to represent the values of his constituents in a “statesman-like manner.” He cited several awards he has received for his public service, including Legislator of the Year, the Presidential Citation from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center’s Faculty Senate and the Tennessee Hospital Association’s 2026 Hospital Hero award.
“That shows that I do represent our district in the way that our community would like, and I think that having a proven track record is a reason that the voters should send me back,” he said.
Only two Native candidates in Tennessee are seeking public office this election season.
The other is Judge Victoria “Tori” Smith, nonpartisan, who won reappointment to the Hamilton County General Sessions Court judicial seat that she currently holds. The Poarch Creek Indians citizen didn’t respond to ICT’s requests for comment.
She ran unopposed in Thursday’s Hamilton County General Election and won 100 percent of the 50,757 votes cast for the seat. Appointed to the General Sessions Court in 2024, Smith filled the vacancy left by Judge Alex McVeagh’s election to the Circuit Court. She will serve until 2030 to finish out McVeagh’s eight-year term.
The general election is Tuesday, November 3.
The post Choctaw Tennessee state legislator heads to general election following primary appeared first on ICT.
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