State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood), who is running in the October 7 special Republican primary for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, positioned himself as the true “constitutional conservative” in the race.
On Thursday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Bulso, who is one of 11 Republicans seeking the party’s nomination in the race, made his case to voters, emphasizing his commitment to limited federal government and restoring states’ rights.
Bulso said he’s hearing consistent concerns across the district about rising crime, economic instability, and a general decline in national direction, claiming voters want to get back to low crime, strong families, and local economic empowerment.
“We have a district that is made up of diverse types of folks, but they all have the same central concerns…that we need to get back to the America that our parents and grandparents knew. One that was free of all this crime that’s just swept over these blue urban cities. One that actually focuses on the family and makes the economy work for farmers and for young folks and for the type of small businesses that actually drive our economy as the engine of the economic growth of America,” Bulso said.
Framing the U.S. Constitution as the “blueprint” for the nation, Bulso criticized federal overreach and emphasized the 10th Amendment’s mandate to return power to the states.
He argued that dismantling excessive federal regulation and spending is essential to unleashing economic growth and preserving individual liberty.
“I am known in the race as the constitutional conservative. Someone who understands that we have a constitution, it is our blueprint. We need to follow it. And that message resonates everywhere because folks understand that when you have a government that’s set up the way the founders intended, where you have a small, limited federal government, which is the way ours used to be before the 1930s, and you have the power residing with the people or with the states as the 10th Amendment…That gives us the opportunity to have economic growth that’s unimpeded by federal regulation or federal excess or federal spending or federal taxation, and that’s the kind of America that everyone that I spoke to speak to – rural, urban, or otherwise – wants to get back to,” Bulso explained.
“I think they recognize that I am the candidate that actually understands that and has the best chance of getting to D.C. and working with Speaker Johnson, working with President Trump to reduce the size of our government, push the power back to the states and to the people, and have a future that’s as bright as the history that we’ve known here in the United States,” he added.
Bulso went on to highlight his legislative record in the Tennessee General Assembly, pointing to the roughly 22 bills he sponsored and passed, many of which focus on core conservative issues.
Bulso argued that his track record distinguishes him from others in the race—not just as a principled conservative, but as one who delivers results.
“I’ve got a track record, not just of conservative principles, but of actually doing something and being effective in passing those things. Oftentimes you hear people say, ‘you can make a point or you can make a difference,’ and I think what voters have seen is that I’m there and have made a difference,” Bulso said.
Further pointing to his legislative record, Bulso underscored the importance of working effectively within a legislative body, noting that Tennessee’s Republican supermajority has enabled conservative reforms at the state level.
In Washington, he said, results will require not only coalition-building but also direct engagement with the American people, echoing Ronald Reagan’s belief in the power of grassroots support.
“[In D.C.], you have to resort directly to the people which is something that Ronald Reagan talked about in his farewell address that he gave on January 11th, 1989, where he said, ‘I did not do anything that you did not do for me.’ And he was obviously referring to the American people. Saying that, look, I was able to do what I did in my eight years in office because you were behind me, and I took the power that emanates from the people and used it legislatively to enact all these wonderful policies that restarted the economy and then ultimately caused the Soviet Union to fall,” Bulso said.
In a closing pitch to voters, Bulso emphasized he is the candidate for Tennesseans who are seeking a candidate to reduce the federal government’s size, control federal spending, and return power back to the states.
Bulso said, “If you’re someone living in the 7th District who’s a registered voter who hasn’t voted yet, do you want someone who is going to reduce the size of our federal government? Someone who is actually going to do something about the tax burden that the federal government puts on working families, someone who intends to do something about this out of control federal spending that’s resulted in a $37.2 trillion debt, which has driven up the cost of living and going up every day and going up every day? Do you want somebody who wants to return the country to the type of country that our founders intended with a limited federal government, where we have states that can decide what type of government they want for their people. Do you want to be a low tax state like Tennessee, where folks are encouraged to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and make it?”
“If you’re somebody who believes in all those things, then this would be the time…to go and vote for Gino,” he added.
The special primary election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District will take place Tuesday, October 7.
Voters who failed to register in time for the special primary have until November 3 to register to vote in the special general election, scheduled for December 2.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
