MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WGNS) - State Representative Charlie Baum has announced his candidacy for reelection to represent District 37 in the Tennessee House of Representatives. First elected in 2018, the Murfreesboro Republican is seeking another term in the general election set for Tuesday (November 3rd).
Highlighting his work on state finances, Baum points to his position on the House Finance, Ways, and Means Committee, where he helped draft Tennessee’s $58.3 billion balanced budget.
“Tennessee is in a strong financial position,” Baum said. “We increased funding for education, health care, and transportation infrastructure without raising taxes. We also added more than $50 million to our Rainy-Day Fund, bringing it to a record $2.2 billion.”
In addition to his finance committee role, Baum serves on the Education Committee and chairs the Higher Education Subcommittee. If reelected, Baum plans to propose a conservative, responsible budget with no tax increases. His goals for the upcoming legislative session include funding education, lowering healthcare costs to increase access, and promoting safe neighborhoods and family values.
During his time in office, Baum sponsored legislation focused on independent workers.
“Tennessee is home to more than 510,000 independent contractors, many of whom do not have access to traditional employment benefits such as health care, retirement savings, or paid time off,” Baum said. “I sponsored legislation removing barriers that prevented businesses from offering benefits to independent workers while keeping participation voluntary for both companies and workers. It gives independent workers more opportunities to set aside a portion of their compensation for benefits such as paid family or medical leave, health and dental coverage, retirement savings, and paid time off.”
Baum also sponsored and passed legislation promoting homeownership across the state through the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA). Furthermore, he passed laws limiting solicitation and spam phone calls while granting new authority to Tennessee’s Attorney General to prosecute violators.
Raised in Knoxville, Baum attended Wake Forest University before earning his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina, where he met his wife, Kelly. The couple moved to Murfreesboro in 1999 after he graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill. Baum joined the Department of Economics and Finance at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and served as department chair from 2008 to 2014. His economic research on employment trends, wages, labor force participation rates, and employee benefits has earned citations in Bloomberg Businessweek, U.S. News & World Report, and The New York Times.
Baum has served as a board member for multiple local organizations, including Oaklands Mansion, the Community Foundation of Rutherford County, the Murfreesboro Domestic Violence Center, United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties, the Murfreesboro City Schools Foundation, the Linebaugh Library Foundation, and the American Heart Association. He is also an Eagle Scout.
Baum and his wife, Kelly, are members of First United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro and have three adult children, Elizabeth, Anna Jane, and Charles, who all graduated from Siegel High School.
Early voting for the election runs from Wednesday (October 14th) through Thursday (October 29th), leading up to Election Day on Tuesday (November 3rd).
