SAM STOCKARD

Sam Stockard

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Sam Stockard is a reporter at the Tennessee Lookout. He is veteran Tennessee reporter and editor, having written for the Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro, where he served as lead editor when the paper won an award for being the state's best Sunday newspaper two years in a row. He has led the Capitol Hill bureau for The Daily Memphian. His awards include Best Single Editorial from the Tennessee Press Association.

Tennessee subterranean authority member won’t take first Boring Company tunnel ride
Tennessee

Tennessee subterranean authority member won’t take first Boring Company tunnel ride

6:02am ET
Sam Stockard
A member of the Tennessee board overseeing construction of a Nashville tunnel isn’t worried yet about the potential for sinkholes detailed in a new study, but even he is leery it could be flooded by the Cumberland River. Former state...
Tennessee officials urge caution amid reports of ballot problems
Tennessee

Tennessee officials urge caution amid reports of ballot problems

Oct 26, 2026
Sam Stockard
A Tennessee Democratic lawmaker is calling for election officials to resolve complaints that voting machines are defaulting to candidates they didn’t want to select but stopped short of saying ballots are rigged. “Obviously, this keeps coming up and it needs...
Stockard on the Stump: Republican lawmaker’s apology on “hanging” seems hollow
Tennessee

Stockard on the Stump: Republican lawmaker’s apology on “hanging” seems hollow

Oct 23, 2026
Sam Stockard
A Tennessee Republican lawmaker is reiterating support for public hangings three years after giving a half-baked apology for calling for a return to “hanging from a tree” as a form of capital punishment. State Rep. Paul Sherrell of Sparta said...
Tennessee Republicans want electrocution or firing squads to replace lethal injection
Tennessee

Tennessee Republicans want electrocution or firing squads to replace lethal injection

Oct 22, 2026
Sam Stockard
Tennessee Republican lawmakers are ready to change the state’s death penalty laws in the wake of two botched executions by lethal injection, including a renewed look at electrocution and firing squads. Republican Rep. Jody Barrett of Dickson confirmed this week...
Tennessee judicial panel dismisses private-school voucher lawsuit
Tennessee

Tennessee judicial panel dismisses private-school voucher lawsuit

Oct 20, 2026
Sam Stockard
A Tennessee judicial panel dismissed a legal challenge of the state’s private-school vouchers, finding that the constitution doesn’t prohibit creation of the $260 million-plus program. The three-judge panel dismissed the entire case filed in 2025 by a group of parents...
Tennessee GOP senator says “no basis” to expel her from caucus
Tennessee

Tennessee GOP senator says ‘no basis’ to expel her from caucus

Oct 19, 2026
Sam Stockard
A Tennessee Republican senator says the Senate GOP caucus has “no basis” to expel her for endorsing an independent gubernatorial candidate as a Senate speakership vote approaches. Sen. Janice Bowling, a 14-year lawmaker from Tullahoma, told the Lookout that she...
Losing bidder claims state changed terms on I-24 toll lane project
Tennessee

Losing bidder claims state changed terms on I-24 toll lane project

Oct 16, 2026
Sam Stockard
A road-building group that lost out on Tennessee’s toll lane project is challenging the state’s award to a consortium led by a Spain-based company that promised the state a massive amount of money. A group of companies called 24 Choice...
Stockard on the Stump: Tennessee governor shuts down questions
Tennessee

Stockard on the Stump: Tennessee governor shuts down questions

Oct 16, 2026
Sam Stockard
Gov. Bill Lee and Nashville airport folks moved “faster than grease through a goose” this week to stop media questions that dared stray from their Air France announcement. Blame Davy Crockett for that time-tested idiom. When a Lookout reporter tried...
Nashville airport announces nonstop Air France flight
Tennessee

Nashville airport announces nonstop Air France flight

Oct 14, 2026
Sam Stockard
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Wednesday a state takeover of the Nashville airport authority didn’t hinder negotiations with Air France for a nonstop flight to Paris. Lee, who signed a measure into law giving Tennessee leaders a majority of appointments...
Tennessee GOP senator seeks one-month gas tax break
Tennessee

Tennessee GOP senator seeks one-month gas tax break

Oct 14, 2026
Sam Stockard
A Tennessee Republican lawmaker is asking the governor to cut motorists some slack at the pump by calling for a one-month break on the state’s gas tax. Sen. Tom Hatcher of Maryville sent a letter to Gov. Bill Lee requesting...
Tennessee Senate leaders predict no move to expel member before speaker vote
Tennessee

Tennessee Senate leaders predict no move to expel member before speaker vote

Oct 13, 2026
Sam Stockard
Tennessee’s Senate Republican Caucus won’t try to remove a member for a rogue endorsement before the election of a new Senate speaker, two key lawmakers said Monday, a move that could affect the outcome of a tight race. Senate Majority...
Stockard on the Stump: Tennessee governor defends Correction commissioner in failed executions
Tennessee

Stockard on the Stump: Tennessee governor defends Correction commissioner in failed executions

Oct 02, 2026
Sam Stockard
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee continues to give his top correction official a get-out-of-jail free card for botched executions. Correction Commissioner Frank Strada got the job in January 2023 despite overseeing three problematic executions as a deputy commissioner in Arizona, then...