# Bud Hulsey

Charles Nolan "Bud" Hulsey (born May 30, 1949) is an American politician. A Republican, he represents the 2nd District in Sullivan County in the Tennessee House of Representatives .

## Early life

Bud Hulsey was born on May 30, 1949, and he attended Durango High School as a Durango Demon from 1964 to his 1967 graduation. Hulsey later attended Bob Jones University at Greenville, South Carolina from 1967 to 1972 where was a member of the "Byran" (William Jennings Bryan Literary Society at Bob Jones University) men's society and where he also obtained his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in education.

## Career

Bud Hulsey is a retired Kingsport Police lieutenant with post graduate work at the University of Virginia via the FBI National Academy.
He is the owner and President of Burlington Logistics, Inc., a trucking company located in the Tri-Cities area of East Tennessee.
Hulsey was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives as a member of the 109th General Assembly in 2014 after defeating three-term incumbent Tony Shipley in the Republican primary and Independent J.R. Enfield in the general election. He was again elected to serve in the 110th General Assembly in 2016 after a victory over Democratic challenger J.S. Moore. On November 6, 2018, Hulsey was re-elected to serve in the 111th General Assembly after defeating Democratic challenger Arvil Love, Jr. and Independent challenger Robert Ellis in the General Election. The second district proved its loyalty to Hulsey yet again on November 3, 2020, when they overwhelmingly supported him against repeat challenger Arvil Love, Jr. in the general election. He has since been re-elected uncontested.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he proposed legislation to prohibit mandatory COVID-19 vaccination.
In 2023, the Tennessee House voted on motions to remove three sitting Democratic representatives — Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin J. Pearson — for disrupting proceedings with a protest as citizens were at the capitol voicing their outrage over a mass shooting at a Nashville school that left six dead. Hulsey voted in favor of all three resolutions: HR 63, to remove Pearson; HR 64, to remove Johnson; and HR 65, to remove Jones. Pearson and Jones were expelled, while Johnson was not.
In 2024, Hulsey proposed to ban lab-grown meat. He argued that exposing humans to lab-grown meat was a violation of the Nuremberg Code (a set of ethical research principles for human experimentation established in the wake of Nazi experiments on humans).

### Elections

Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2014 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bud Hulsey | 12,249 | 84.2 |
| | Independent | J.R. Enfield | 2,302 | 15.8 |
Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2016 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bud Hulsey | 20,334 | 80.5 |
| | Democratic | J.S. Moore | 4,940 | 19.6 |
Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2018 :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Bud Hulsey | 17,444 | 75.9 |
| Democratic | Arvil Love, Jr. | 4,966 | 21.6 |
| Independent | Robert Ellis | 572 | 2.5 |
Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bud Hulsey | 23,278 | 77.1 |
| | Democratic | Arvil Love, Jr. | 6,902 | 22.9 |
Tennessee House of Representatives, 2nd Representative District, 2022 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bud Hulsey | 15,359 | 99.6 |
| | Other (United States) | Write-in | 63 | 0.4 |

### Committee assignments

Hulsey serves in the 113th General Assembly as:
* Chair, Criminal Justice Committee
* Member, Criminal Justice Subcommittee
* Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee
* Member, Agriculture and National Resources Subcommittee
* Member, Calendars and Rules Committee*Member
Hulsey served in the 112th General Assembly as:
* Chair, Corrections Subcommittee
* Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee
* Member, Agriculture and National Resources Subcommittee
* Member, Criminal Justice Subcommittee
* Member, State Government Committee
Hulsey served in the 111th General Assembly as:
* Chair, Corrections Subcommittee
* Member, State Committee
* Member, Agriculture and National Resources Committee
* Member, Agriculture and National Resources Subcommittee
* Member, Judiciary Committee
* Member, Public Safety Committee of Extraordinary Session II
Hulsey served in the 110th General Assembly as:
* Vice-chair, House State Government Committee
* Member, House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
* Member, House State Government Committee
Hulsey served in the 109th General Assembly as:
* Member, House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee
* Member, House State Government Committee
* Member, House State Government Subcommittee

### Other

* In July 2014, Hulsey lost his campaign chair, former Tennessee State Representative Michael Locke, in a hit and run incident by a drunk driver.