Russell Jackson "Rusty" Grills (born October 1, 1981) is an American politician from the state of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. A Republican, Grills has represented the 77th district of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

, covering Dyer,

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

, and Obion Counties along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, since 2020.

Career

In July 2019, Republican Bill Sanderson resigned from the 77th district of the

, and fellow Republican Casey Hood was appointed to the seat. Grills, then a farmer and a

Dyer County Dyer County is a county located in the westernmost part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,801. The county seat is Dyersburg. Dyer County comprises the Dyersburg, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...

Commissioner, announced he would run against Hood in the November special primary election for the remainder of Sanderson's term. In a four-candidate race, Grills convincingly ousted Hood with 56% of the vote, and went on to easily win the December general election over

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Michael Smith and three independents. Grills assumed office on January 14, 2020. Grills served on conservative grassroots advisory council advocating for Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. In 2023, Grills supported a resolution to expel three Democratic lawmakers from the legislature for violating decorum rules. The expulsion was widely characterized as unprecedented.

Personal life

Grills lives in Newbern with his wife, Christina "Christi" Marie née Bennett Grills (a registered nurse), and their two children. Grills was homeschooled.https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/legislatorinfo/member.aspx?district=H77 "Represenatative Rusty Grills", Tennessee General Assembly.

References

Living people Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives 1981 births People from Dyer County, Tennessee 21st-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly {{Tennessee-politician-stub