MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee state senator Brian Kelsey of Germantown announced Friday he is not running for reelection due to an “exciting change in my personal life.”
This comes as Kelsey faces federal charges of violating campaign finance laws.
In a letter Friday, Kelsey said: “I will not be running for reelection due to a recent, exciting change to my personal life, and I look forward to spending more time with my family.
It has been a true honor to serve you for 18 years and to work with you to pass more constitutional amendments than any other Tennessee legislator in history—including one to forever ban the income tax. But now my service to you is best spent fighting for American values in the court system and stopping the Biden Administration’s failed policies like the attempted OSHA vaccine mandate.
I’m happy to return any recent campaign contributions, and Lord willing, I hope that you will give me the opportunity to run for elected office in Tennessee again in the coming years.”
On October 22, 2021, Kelsey and a Nashville club owner were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of violating campaign finance laws involving an alleged scheme to benefit Kelsey's 2016 campaign for U.S. Congress.
Court documents said Kelsey and club owner Joshua Smith were indicted for conspiring to illegally funnel "soft money" from Kelsey's Tennessee State Senate campaign to his federal campaign committee. "Soft money" is a contribution to a political party that is not accounted as going to a particular candidate, avoiding various legal limitations.
A trial on the charges is still pending.