On July 24, 2019, Sanderson resigned for what he said was to "spend more time with his family and business".[3] Sanderson owns and operates a three-generation family business, White Squirrel Winery in his West Tennessee hometown of Kenton.
Elections
2008: When District 77 Democratic Representative Phillip Pinion retired and left the seat open, Sanderson ran in the August 7, 2008 Republican primary, winning with 1,152 votes (65.0%),[4] but lost the November 4, 2008 general election to Democratic nominee Judy Barker.[5]
2010: Sanderson and Representative Barker were both unopposed for their August 5, 2010 primaries,[6] setting up a rematch; Sanderson won the November 2, 2010 general election with 8,225 votes (50.9%) against Representative Barker.[7]
2012: Sanderson was unopposed for the August 2, 2012 Republican primary, winning with 3,809 votes,[8] and won the November 6, 2012 general election with 14,379 votes (66.2%) against
Democratic nominee Mark Oakes.[9]
2016: Sanderson won 81% of the vote in the general election, against 19% for an independent candidate,[10] Tom Reasons, by a vote of 16,326 to 3,809; there was no Democratic party candidate on the ballot that November.[11]Donald J. Trump, Sr. lead the ticket nationally in the
2016 United States elections, winning over 60% of the vote in Tennessee that year.[10]
2018: Sanderson was unopposed in both the 2018 primary and general elections.[citation needed]