# John Rose (Tennessee politician)

John Williams Rose (born February 23, 1965) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 6th congressional district since 2019. A Republican, he was commissioner of agriculture for Tennessee and president of Boson Software, LLC.
Rose has announced his candidacy for Governor of Tennessee in 2026.

## Early life and education

Rose was born and raised in Cookeville, Tennessee, and earned a Bachelor of Science in agribusiness economics from Tennessee Tech in 1988, a Master of Science in agricultural economics from Purdue University in 1990, and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School.

## Career

In 1992, Rose co-founded Transcender Corp., a provider of online information technology certification products that was sold in October 2000 for $60 million. Rose owns and is the president of Boson Software, LLC, which trains IT professionals.
Rose served as commissioner of agriculture for Tennessee in 2002. He owns a family farm in rural Temperance Hall, west of Cookeville.

## U.S. House of Representatives
### Elections
#### 2018

On August 2, 2018, Rose won the Republican primary for the 6th Congressional District after Diane Black vacated the seat to run for governor. He defeated Dawn Barlow in the November 6 general election with more than 70% of the vote. After being elected, Rose hired former Representative Van Hilleary as his chief of staff.

#### 2020

Rose won a second term with 73.7% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Christopher Finley. He was unopposed in the primary election.

#### 2022

Rose won a third term with 66.3% of the vote, defeating Democratic nominee Randal Cooper.

### Tenure

In May 2019, Rose blocked a vote during a pro forma session of Congress on a $19.1-billion relief bill intended to deliver aid to areas of the U.S. affected by natural disasters the previous year. He cited the national deficit and the vote being held during a Congressional break as reasons for his objection.
In December 2020, Rose was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump. In January 2021, Rose was one of 147 Republicans in Congress and 139 in the House to vote to object to the certification of the results of the election.
In June 2021, Rose was one of 21 House Republicans to vote against a resolution to give the Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Capitol Police officers who were on duty during the 2021 United States Capitol attack. He said it was too soon to award the medals and there was not yet enough information about the events on January 6.
In 2022, Rose was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2021, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.
Rose was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.
In October 2024, The Tennessee Journal reported that Rose will be announcing a 2026 campaign for governor of Tennessee shortly after the 2024 general election.

### Committee assignments

* Committee on Financial Services
** Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy
** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
** Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance
** Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy
* Committee on Agriculture

### Caucus memberships

* Republican Study Committee

## Electoral history

Republican primary results, 2018 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Rose | 43,788 | 41.3 |
| | Republican | Bob Corlew | 33,088 | 31.2 |
| | Republican | Judd Matheny | 16,753 | 15.9 |
| | Republican | Lavern Vivio | 9,506 | 9 |
| | Republican | Christopher Monday | 3,021 | 2.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 106,156 | 100 |
Tennessee's 6th congressional district, 2018 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Rose | 172,810 | 69.5 |
| | Democratic | Dawn Barlow | 70,370 | 28.3 |
| | Independent | David Ross | 3,426 | 1.4 |
| | Independent | Lloyd Dunn | 2,134 | .8 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 248,740 | 100 |
Republican primary results, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Rose (incumbent) | 78,340 | 100.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 78,340 | 100.0 |
Tennessee's 6th congressional district, 2020 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Rose (incumbent) | 257,572 | 73.7 |
| | Democratic | Christopher Finley | 83,852 | 24.0 |
| | Independent | Christopher Monday | 8,154 | 2.3 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 349,578 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
Republican Primary Results, 2022 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Rose (incumbent) | 57,162 | 100.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 57,162 | 100.0 |
Tennessee's 6th congressional district, 2022 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Rose (incumbent) | 129,388 | 66.33% |
| | Democratic | Randal Cooper | 65,675 | 33.67% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 195,063 | 100.0% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |
Republican primary results, 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Rose (incumbent) | 38,607 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 38,607 | 100.00% |
Tennessee's 6th congressional district, 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | John Rose (incumbent) | 225,543 | 68.00% |
| | Democratic | Lore Bergman | 106,144 | 32.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 331,687 | 100.00% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## Nonprofit work

Rose has chaired the Tennessee State Fair Association since its founding in 2010. He has also served on Tennessee Tech Foundation's board of directors and as chair of the Tennessee Future Farmers of America Foundation.
Rose established the Jerry and Betty Williams Rose Scholarship for agricultural students at Tennessee Tech in memory of his parents.

## Personal life

Rose and his wife Chelsea (née Doss) married in January 2011. They live in Cookeville, Tennessee, with their two sons.