Mark Cochran

Mark Cochran is an American politician who represents District 23 in the Tennessee House of Representatives. He was elected as part of the 111th general assembly in November 2018.[1] He was preceded by Republican representative John W. Forgety after he had served in the 107th-109th general assembly.[2] District 23 encompasses McMinn county and parts of Monroe county. Cochran also has served as the treasurer for the Tennessee State House of Representatives from 2019 to present day.

Mark Cochran
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
from the 23rd district
Assumed office
January 8, 2019
Preceded byJohn Forgety
Personal details
Born (1985-11-21) November 21, 1985
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceEnglewood, Tennessee
Alma materUniversity of Tennessee

Personal life

Cochran currently resides in the town of Englewood, Tennessee. His family roots in this town date back seven generations to the 1850s when his ancestors established a small farm. He is a devout Christian and conservative who grew up tending to the cattle on his family's farm and bagging groceries in his parents' own store.[3]

Education and Professional Experience

From 2004-2008 Mark Cochran attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where he received a Masters Degree in Public Administration and attained a grade point average of 4.0. Following this, he remained at the University of Tennessee for one more year, to 2009,to earn a Bachelors in Broadcast Journalism while also sustaining a grade point average of 4.0. In 2010, Cochran worked as a staff assistant in the office of former senator Bob Corker who held office from 2007-2019. Also starting in 2010, he became an assistant to the McMinn County Mayor's Office which is currently ongoing.[4] Following that, in 2015 he served as the campaign manager for Jason Zachary who ran for state representative for District 14, and won against Scott Hacker with 72.9% or the vote.[5] As of 2015 Cochran has also served as a board member on the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers

2018 Election

In the general election for District 23 of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Mark Cochran (R) defeated Brad Hartley (D) on November 6, 2018.[6]

General Election for District 23 TN House of Representatives
Candidate % Votes
Mark Cochran (R) 80.7 16,395
Brad Hartley (D) 19.3 3,918
Total 100 20,313

Preceding the general election, on August 2, 2018 Cochran won the Republican primary election against Donald Winder III for Tennessee House of Representatives District 23.[7]

Republican Primary for District 23 TN House of Representatives
Mark Cochran Donald Winder III
McMinn 4,198 3,367
Monroe 1,822 849
Total 6,020 4,216

Committees[8]

Cochran presently is a member on the following legislative committees:

  • Education
  • Curriculum, Testing, and Innovation Subcommittees
  • Consumer and Human Resource Committee
  • Consumer Subcommittee

Personal Politics

Abortion: Cochran co-sponsored and voted “yea” on bill HB 77 which prohibits abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected on March 7. 2019. Prior to the 2018 election, he was endorsed by Tennessee Right to Life on July 27, 2018.[9]

LGBT Issues: Vote “yea” on Bill HB 836 on April 1, 2019 which allows adoption agencies to deny possible parents based on religious reasoning.[10] Also voted “yea” on April 8, 2019 for Bill HB 1151 which prohibits indecent exposure in a public place or private premise like restrooms and locker rooms. This prohibits the use of diagnosed gender dysphoria as a defense to the offender.[11]

Guns: On December 12, 2017 the National Rifle Association rated Cochran a 93% on his position on gun rights. Following this, on July 31, 2018 the National Rifle Association endorsed his campaign for office.[12]

References
  1. "Tennessee House of Representatives District 23". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  2. "Representatives - TN General Assembly". www.capitol.tn.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  3. Balch, Gil (2018-05-02), Mark Cochran for State Representative, retrieved 2019-11-26
  4. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  5. "Jason Zachary". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  6. "State of Tennessee November 6, 2018 State General" (PDF).
  7. "State of Tennessee August 2, 2018 Republican Primary" (PDF).
  8. "Representatives - TN General Assembly". www.capitol.tn.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  9. "Bans Abortion After Detected Heartbeat". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  10. "Deny Parents for Religious Reasoning". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  11. "Prohibits Indecent Exposure". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  12. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
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