NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee Comptroller Justin Wilson won’t run for reelection and he is endorsing his deputy to replace him, the six-term Republican announced Wednesday.
Wilson revealed his decision in a letter to state lawmakers and endorsed Deputy Comptroller Jason Mumpower, a former Republican state representative from northeast Tennessee.
“Tennessee is well positioned for the future,” Wilson, 75, said in the letter. “As I have contemplated my own future, I have determined that now is the time for me to step aside.”
State lawmakers first elected Wilson to the constitutionally elected office in 2009 and he was last reelected to a two-year term in 2019.
The comptroller’s office is tasked with a variety of financial oversight duties, including government audit responsibilities.
A Nashville attorney, Wilson previously served as state Department of Environment and Conservation commissioner and deputy to the governor for policy under former GOP Gov. Don Sundquist.
The GOP-supermajority General Assembly will elect Wilson’s replacement in January. It’s unclear what other candidates might vie for the position.
The comptroller is one of three statewide Tennessee offices elected by state lawmakers. They also pick the secretary of state for four-year terms and the treasurer for two-year terms.
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