MEMPHIS, Tenn. — WREG spoke with one-on-one with state Rep. John DeBerry, the longtime Memphis lawmaker who was removed from the state Democratic Party’s 2020 primary ballot.
DeBerry, a church pastor, represents District 90, areas of Midtown and South Memphis, and regularly takes a pro-life stance and votes for other issues Republicans support.
“These are not newly held positions with me. These are positions that I held when I went to office,” DeBerry said.
The state Democratic Party claims a majority of DeBerry’s campaign contributions come from Republican PACs, and his votes don’t mirror party values.
“He casted the deciding vote for vouchers to take money away from public schools, he voted for voter suppression laws, and he does not align with the democratic party on the issue of women’s health,” said Mary Mancini with the Tennessee Democratic Party.
DeBerry said these have been “charges that have been levied against me” for four elections.
“And the people in my district, overwhelming from 60 to 70 percent, have decided that I’m the person they want representing them in Nashville. They know that I’m pro-life,” DeBerry said.
The 26-year veteran lawmaker can’t run as an independent, either. It’s past the deadline to do so.
“For them to decide, ‘Well, we can’t beat him at the ballot box, keep him off the ballot,’ that within itself is not Democratic,” DeBerry said.
DeBerry can appeal but doesn’t know if he will. There are two other candidates on the ballot running as Democrats for House District 90.
“We are absolutely 100 percent a party that can disagree with each other on policy and reach across the aisle to work with republicans, but the evidence presented to us was overwhelming it wasn’t just one or two things,” Manici said.
Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton released a statement on the removal:
Mary Mancini claims removing the longest serving Democratic elected official in Tennessee, John DeBerry, a civil rights icon and ordained minister, from the Democratic primary ballot was the best way to protect her party and the values the party stands for. Obviously, Ms. Mancini’s new totalitarian party aligns with dictatorships around the world. You shall vote for the new Democratic agenda in totality or we will remove you for voting your beliefs.
The unspeakable actions of Mary Mancini and a few to silence the voices of 64,000 voters in Rep. DeBerry’s district shows their new winning approach in the District 90 primary – if you can’t beat him, then kick him off the ballot.
Note: Cameron Sexton was incorrectly identified in an earlier version of this story.
