Brian Kelsey (born December 22, 1977) is an

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and former member of the

Tennessee State Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue reg ...

. A member of the Republican party, he was elected to represent District 31, which encompassed the following parts of Shelby County: Cordova, East Memphis, and Germantown. In November 2022, Kelsey pleaded guilty to violating two federal campaign finance laws in connection with his failed 2016 congressional campaign. Kelsey was pardoned by President Donald J. Trump on March 12, 2025.

Early life and education

Kelsey was born in 1977. He attended prekindergarten through

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree with honors from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. He earned his J.D. from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Career

From 2009 to 2018, he worked at The Kelsey Firm, PLLC. Brian Kelsey was first elected as a state representative to the 104th

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Tennessee Senate, Senate and a Tennessee House of Representa ...

(2004–2006). He served on the House Children and Family Affairs Committee; the House Commerce Committee; the House Domestic Relations Subcommittee; and the House Utilities, Banking and Small Business Subcommittee. Kelsey was the former chairman of the House Civil Practice Subcommittee. Kelsey ran for the District 31 seat vacated after the

resignation Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

of former Senator

Paul Stanley Paul Stanley (born Stanley Bert Eisen; January 20, 1952) is an American musician who was the co-founder, frontman, rhythm guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss from the band's inception in 1973 to their retireme ...

. In 2010, Kelsey won re-election for a full term as the Senator from the Thirty-First District. In the 106th General Assembly, Kelsey served on the Senate Government Operations Committee and the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

. In the 107th General Assembly, Kelsey was assigned to the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee; the Senate Judiciary Committee; and he was named Secretary of the Senate Education Committee. Kelsey was also admitted to the Joint Committee on Fiscal Review, which consists of members from both chambers who oversee the Fiscal Review Office. During the 110th General Assembly, Kelsey serves as the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kelsey is a member in the

American Legislative Exchange Council The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservatism in the United States, conservative state legislature (United States), state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share Model act, ...

(ALEC), having attended meetings of the organization. Kelsey ran unopposed in 2014 for the District 31 seat. Kelsey is the only legislator in Tennessee history to sponsor three successful amendments to the state constitution: the first prohibited a state

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

, the second changed the selection of state appellate judges from popular vote to gubernatorial appointment, and the third added a new section to the Tennessee Constitution to make it illegal for workplaces to require mandatory labor union membership for employees as a condition for employment. He also sponsored the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

's comprehensive

tort reform Tort reform consists of changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes ...

act in 2011, and passed a law to prohibit

Obamacare The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...

Medicaid expansion in Tennessee in 2014. In 2019, his conference committee report instituting an Education Savings Account program was signed into law by Governor Bill Lee. In 2021, Kelsey was one of four Republican senators who voted against removing from the Tennessee constitution the article which allows

involuntary servitude Involuntary servitude or involuntary slavery, more commonly known as just slavery, is a legal and constitutional term for a person laboring against that person's will to benefit another, under some form of coercion, to which it may constitute ...

as punishment for people convicted of a crime. In March 2022, following his indictment by a federal

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

in October 2021, Kelsey announced he would not be seeking re-election.

Campaign finance scheme

On Monday, October 25, 2021, the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

announced a five-count indictment by a federal grand jury against Kelsey in connection with his failed 2016 congressional campaign. Kelsey was indicted for violating multiple

campaign finance Campaign financealso called election finance, political donations, or political financerefers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Donors and recipients include individuals, corpor ...

laws, including soft money contributions in violation of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The indictment states that money was funneled from a state committee to Kelsey's federal campaign, and illegal excess contributions were made to the federal campaign and concealed from the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...

. Kelsey become one of the first politicians ever to be indicted for alleged soft money violations. Kelsey initially pleaded not guilty until his co-defendant, Nashville social club owner Joshua Smith, pleaded guilty in October 2022. On November 22, 2022, Kelsey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the Federal Election Commission as well as aiding and abetting the acceptance of excessive contributions on behalf of a federal campaign. On December 8, 2022, Kelsey's law license was suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court after a request from the court's Board of Professional Responsibility. After serving 15 days of the 21-month sentence, Kelsey was pardoned by President Donald J. Trump on March 12, 2025.

References

External links

* Campaign website with extensive biography and press clippings archive
VoteKelsey.com
* Find Law directory page for the subject
Brian K. Kelsey - a Memphis, Tennessee (TN) Civil Litigation Lawyer
* Tennessee General Assembly Senator's member page

* Outline of votes by Kelsey and others in the TN General Assembly related to 'Insure Tennessee' legislation

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelsey, Brian Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Living people 1977 births Politicians from Memphis, Tennessee Tennessee politicians convicted of crimes 21st-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly People pardoned by Donald Trump