Jeremy Ryan Durham is an American former politician and attorney. From January 2013 to September 2016 he served as the Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 65th District, encompassing parts of Williamson County, Tennessee. On July 13, 2016 a special committee of the Tennessee House of Representatives released a report that found Durham had had inappropriate "sexual interactions" with 22 women. On September 13, 2016, Durham was expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives on a 70–2 vote.
Early years
Jeremy Durham was born in Jackson, Tennessee and grew up in Adamsville. He graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 2006 and earned a J.D. from the University of Memphis Law School in 2008. From 2009 to 2011 he served as chairman of the Tennessee Young Republican Federation and founded the Tennessee Young Republicans PAC, which raised nearly $25,000 for Republican candidates in Tennessee. He was a partner in the law firm Hawkins, Durham & Associates from 2010 to 2012.
Tennessee legislature
Committee assignments
Durham was a member of the Tennessee House Insurance and Banking Committee, the House Local Government Committee, and the House Local Government Subcommittee. In December 2014, during the 109th General Assembly, he was elected House Majority Whip.
Legislation
As of May 2016 Durham was the primary sponsor of 171 bills.
Awards
Durham was named "Freshman of the Year, Republican" in 2014 by Tom Humphrey, the Nashville Bureau Chief and primary political correspondent for the Knoxville News Sentinel. In January 2013 he was one of the first recipients of the American Conservative Union's Tennessee House "ACU Conservative" award. As part of the Williamson County legislative delegation, he was awarded the 2015 ACU Award For Conservative Excellence, its highest award.
Controversies
Durham wrote to a federal judge in 2014 seeking a more lenient sentence for a Bedford County Baptist youth pastor who had been convicted on a federal charge of possessing "'violent' and 'sadistic'" child pornography and state charges of statutory rape. Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey called the move "poor judgment."
Sexual harassment and expulsion
In January 2016, Durham was accused of sexually harassing three women (by text message) who worked at the legislature. When speaking to the media about the allegations, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the Senate Ron Ramsey said, "Obviously, we don't want the press lynching anybody. But the press didn't force anyone to send text messages after midnight asking for pictures." Durham resigned as House Majority Whip on January 24, 2016. On January 27 House Speaker Beth Harwell said she agreed with Ramsey that Durham should be expelled from the state legislature. Durham has said that he did not remember sending the texts. He told the Republican Caucus that he would seek "help", then clarified to the Williamson Herald, a newspaper in his district, that he meant he would speak to his doctor about finding ways to manage stress.
On April 1, 2016 Durham filed papers and announced his intention to run for re-election. On April 7, 2016, Speaker Harwell directed that Durham's office be moved out of the Tennessee State House into a nearby building and restrictions were placed on his access to state facilities. The Tennessee Attorney General had recommended that some action be taken as his preliminary investigation indicated Durham might pose a risk to "unsuspecting women." On July 13, 2016, the Attorney General's special investigation found that Durham had sexually harassed at least 22 women, reportedly "...including a then-20-year-old college student who told investigators Rep. Jeremy Durham plied her with a cooler full of beer and had sex with her in his office in 2014.". On July 14, 2016 Durham announced he was suspending his re-election campaign.