Story by Hannah Ferreira
Feature photo by Vanessa Hamel
Republican Mike Sparks defeated Democrat Luis Mata in a race to represent Tennessee’s 49th House district on Nov. 5, 2024.
Sparks has held the district’s seat since 2010, and held onto his position by a margin of 3,866 votes.
Sparks is a Republican from Smyrna, as well as a Middle Tennessee State University alumnus. He specializes in business and real estate, and previously defeated Democrat Morgan Woodberry for the district seat in 2022 by a margin of over 2,000 votes.
During his time in the Tennessee General Assembly, he has notably sponsored pieces of legislation that prohibited children from being interrogated without their parents or legal guardians present, as well as created an anti-street racing task force.
Mata is a Democrat whose family immigrated to Tennessee from Mexico when he was a toddler. He is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and has been working as a public policy advocate for a decade. This was his first-ever political campaign. He focused mostly on issues of protecting public education, supporting the working class and creating jobs.
Despite Sparks being the longtime incumbent, it was expected to be a close race because of the recent redistricting of District 49, as well as a strong grassroots campaign by Mata.
Sparks ultimately won with 15,351 votes compared to Mata’s 11,485, according to the Rutherford County Election Commission results.
Mata was greeted by resounding applause and a standing ovation at an election night watch party sponsored by Victoria Broderick, which featured numerous other local Democratic candidates. He indicated in his speech at the watch party that he is far from giving up, emphasizing that “this is just the beginning.”
Because of the close ending margin, just 14.38% in a state where the Republican victory margins are often much bigger, it may indicate voter dissatisfaction with the current incumbents, as well as the start of a new trend of Democrats challenging Republicans who have long run unopposed in their districts.
The 114th General Assembly will convene on January 14, 2025, where Sparks will take his seat once again.
Hannah Ferreira is a reporter for MTSU Sidelines.
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