Dawn White
Republican · TN · Tennessee State Senator for District 13; chair of the Senate Education Committee
Dawn White is a lifelong conservative Republican who began her professional life as a kindergarten teacher at Black Fox Elementary in the Murfreesboro City School System, where she taught for seven years. She believes in the values of faith, family and community.
Where Dawn White stands, based on their records
Supports
Government Efficiency (1 record), Public Safety and Crime Control (6 records), Social Programs and Welfare (1 record),
Opposes
Immigration (5 records), Civil Rights (5 records)
Mixed record
Anti-Corruption (3 support · 1 oppose), Gun Control (1 support · 1 oppose)
Track record
Track record — Anti-Corruption
Anti-Corruption · 3 support · 1 oppose
Voted to pass HB 1971, which narrows the law letting people ask a court to declare a government action unlawful to local bodies. The Tennessee Senate passed it 18-13, and it became law.
April 2, 2026Opposes Anti-Corruption
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to pass HB 618, which bars a person from holding two local elected offices at the same time. The Tennessee Senate passed it 21-10, and it became law.
February 26, 2026Supports Anti-Corruption
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to pass HB 773, which requires websites carrying official legal notices to be free to view. The Tennessee Senate passed it 23-8, and it became law.
April 22, 2025Supports Anti-Corruption
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to adopt the compromise version of SB 229, which charges political campaign committees a $150 yearly fee. The Tennessee Senate adopted it 23-6, and it became law.
April 22, 2025Supports Anti-Corruption
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Government Efficiency
Government Efficiency · 1 support
White sponsored Senate Bill 2403, which passed the Senate and required annual public reporting of state and local student assessments, proficiency projections, and a teacher review board for TCAP questions.
March 27, 2026Supports Government Efficiency
Source: tnsenategop.com
Track record — Immigration
Immigration · 5 oppose
Voted to pass HB 2219, which requires every county sheriff to sign a federal 287(g) immigration enforcement deal. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-7, and it became law.
April 23, 2026Opposes Immigration
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to accept the House's version of Senate Bill 1915, which makes counties and cities verify adult benefit applicants are citizens or legally present. The Senate agreed 24-6 and it became law as Public Chapter 1106.
April 22, 2026Opposes Immigration
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to pass HB 2502, which applies sales tax to sending money abroad through a licensed money transmitter. The Tennessee Senate passed it 21-7, and it became law.
April 16, 2026Opposes Immigration
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to pass HB 1194, which extends the work authorization law to almost every private employer. The Tennessee Senate passed it 19-13, and it became law.
March 12, 2026Opposes Immigration
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to pass SB 6002, which creates a state immigration enforcement office directing how local police work with federal agents. The Tennessee Senate passed it 26-7, and it became law.
January 29, 2025Opposes Immigration
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Public Safety and Crime Control
Public Safety and Crime Control · 6 support
Sponsored a bill proposing to make the Department of Children's Services record its interviews of children in abuse and neglect cases (Senate Bill 2402). The Senate passed it 28-0; the House held it on the desk.
March 13, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: tnsenategop.com
Led a bill making it a felony to leave the scene of a crash that injures someone, and raising the penalty when a crash causes a death. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced it in March 2026 (Senate Bill 1736).
March 13, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: tnsenategop.com
Sponsored a law requiring tougher sentences for aggravated sexual battery when the victim is under 18 or unable to resist. Offenders must be sentenced at Range II or higher (Senate Bill 678, Public Chapter 375). It passed 27-0 in the Senate and 88-0 in the House.
February 21, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: tnsenategop.com
White co-sponsored Senate Bill 6002, enacted as Public Chapter 1 and effective January 1, 2026, creating a centralized immigration-enforcement division, enforcement grants, ID restrictions, and penalties for sanctuary-policy violations.
January 1, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: tnsenategop.com
White co-sponsored Senate Bill 171, the Ink of Hope Act, effective January 1, 2026, requiring tattoo artists to receive training on recognizing and safely reporting signs of human trafficking.
January 1, 2026Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: tnsenategop.com
Sponsored a law making unlawful photography a felony with longer prison terms, and requiring judges to put those convicted on the sex offender registry (Senate Bill 685). The governor signed it May 21, 2025.
April 24, 2025Supports Public Safety and Crime Control
Source: tnsenategop.com
Track record — Social Programs and Welfare
Social Programs and Welfare · 1 support
Voted to pass SB 1868, which caps state custody of a child for treatment at six months, extendable once. The Tennessee Senate passed it 22-11, and it became law.
April 15, 2026Supports Social Programs and Welfare
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Public Education Quality
Public Education Quality · 4 support
Voted to give final approval to SB 714, which creates an oversight board for a struggling school district. The board must study the district's problems each year and set a turnaround plan with goals. The Senate adopted the final version 27-6.
April 22, 2026Supports Public Education Quality
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
White sponsored Senate Bill 2403, which passed the Senate and required annual public reporting of state and local student assessments, proficiency projections, and a teacher review board for TCAP questions.
March 27, 2026Supports Public Education Quality
Source: tnsenategop.com
Sponsored a law requiring public schools to let virtual-school students living in their zone play on school sports teams; the governor signed it (Senate Bill 690, Public Chapter 173).
March 7, 2026Supports Public Education Quality
Source: tnsenategop.com
Sponsored a new state law requiring Tennessee teachers in grades 6 through 12 to finish a free state course on using artificial intelligence in the classroom (Senate Bill 677). Teachers have until August 1, 2028, or two years after being licensed. The Senate passed it 32-0 and the House 88-0, and the governor signed it in May 2026.
February 21, 2026Supports Public Education Quality
Source: tnsenategop.com
Track record — Gun Control
Gun Control · 1 support · 1 oppose
Voted to pass SB 2028, which bars cities and counties from setting rules on how wildlife may be taken. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-7, and it became law.
March 12, 2026Opposes Gun Control
Source: legiscan.com
Voted for House Bill 1093, which raises the penalty for machine gun conversion parts to a Class C felony. The Tennessee Senate passed it 23-8, and it became law.
April 22, 2025Supports Gun Control
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Civil Rights
Civil Rights · 5 oppose
Voted for HB 7003, Tennessee's new U.S. House map. It split Memphis and spread the city's majority-Black voters across neighboring districts. The Senate passed it 25-5 in a May 2026 special session.
May 7, 2026Opposes Civil Rights
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Voted to pass HB 1271, which requires cities and counties to define sex and gender in their rules by physical traits at birth. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-6, and it became law.
April 22, 2026Opposes Civil Rights
Source: legiscan.com
Voted to pass HB 754, which makes gender clinics report every gender transition procedure to the state. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-7, and it became law.
April 13, 2026Opposes Civil Rights
Source: legiscan.com
White co-sponsored Senate Bill 1086, legislation effective January 1, 2026 that invalidated specified out-of-state driver licenses issued to people without lawful immigration status.
January 1, 2026Opposes Civil Rights
Source: tnsenategop.com
Voted to pass HB 1237, which bars race-based rules for who sits on state boards. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-6, and it became law.
March 31, 2025Opposes Civil Rights
Source: legiscan.com
Track record — Corporate Accountability
Corporate Accountability · 3 support
Voted to pass HB 2175, which makes delivery companies and drivers carry set car insurance while logged on and while delivering. The Tennessee Senate passed it 19-9, and it became law.
April 23, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: legiscan.com
Voted for Senate Bill 2040, which bars an owner from controlling a pharmacy plus both a health insurer and drug-benefit manager from 2028. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-9, and it became law.
April 20, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: legiscan.com
Sponsored a law capping automated telemarketing calls to Tennessee residents at 10,000 per month and requiring callers to keep monthly call records (Senate Bill 2659). The governor signed it in May 2026.
March 13, 2026Supports Corporate Accountability
Source: tnsenategop.com
Track record — General
General · 9 records
The Tennessee General Assembly records White's Senate service during the 111th through 114th General Assemblies.
July 18, 2026
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Voted for a special-session law that removed Tennessee's ban on redrawing U.S. House districts between census counts (HB 7002). The Senate passed it 22-8.
May 7, 2026
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Sponsored a law letting school districts run the Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence program in place of D.A.R.E. The Senate passed it 27-0 and the governor signed it on March 28, 2025 (Senate Bill 683).
March 7, 2026
Source: tnsenategop.com
Voted against HB 601, which opens a late-stage innocence appeal to people who pleaded guilty. The Tennessee Senate passed it 24-6, and it became law.
April 10, 2025
Source: legiscan.com
Voted against the Senate version of Senate Bill 336, which changed the child support condition for restoring voting rights to twelve months of compliance. The Senate passed it 24-8, and a later House rewrite became law.
April 10, 2025
Source: legiscan.com
Lt. Gov. Randy McNally appointed White chair of the Senate Education Committee for the 114th General Assembly.
January 24, 2025
Source: tnsenategop.com
White won the 2022 Tennessee Senate District 13 general election with 31,936 votes, or 64.63 percent.
November 8, 2022
Source: multistate.us
White won the 2018 Tennessee Senate District 13 general election with 36,553 votes, or 57.06 percent.
November 6, 2018
Source: multistate.us
The Tennessee General Assembly records White's service in the House during the 108th through 110th General Assemblies.
November 5, 2018
Source: wapp.capitol.tn.gov
Past races Dawn White ran in:
- Tennessee Senate District 13 · November 3, 2026 · State Senate District 13; Tennessee · incumbent
- Tennessee Senate District 13 · August 6, 2026 · State Senate District 13; Tennessee · incumbent