REUTERS/Kevin... Read moreAug 3 (Reuters) - The two Democratic lawmakers who were expelled from the Tennessee legislature earlier this year after angering the Republican majority with a protest against gun violence are expected to win a special election on Thursday to serve out the remainder of their original terms.
A third Democrat, Gloria Johnson, a white woman, joined the protest but narrowly escaped expulsion.
Both men won their primary elections in June with over 90% of the votes, and both are in districts that heavily favor the Democratic Party.
Republicans who expelled the two men said their conduct disrupted the work of the House and that it was a severe breach of decorum rules.
Democrats, including U.S. President Joe Biden who hosted the two men and Johnson at the White House in April, said the expulsion was undemocratic and disempowered their constituents in Tennessee's two largest cities.
Persons:
Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, Gloria Johnson, Joe Biden, Kevin, Read, Jones, Pearson, Jeff Johnston, Republican Laura Nelson, Johnson, Jonathan Allen, Bill Berkrot
Organizations:
Tennessee Democratic, U.S, White, REUTERS, Democratic, Republicans, Democratic Party, Republican, White House, Thomson
Locations:
Washington , U.S, Tennessee, state's, Nashville, Pearson's, Memphis, New York