TN GOP Supermajority Struggles To Find Footing

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam began the year by dismissing what he called a "caricature" of Republicans struggling to manage their supermajority in state government. But by the end of the legislative session, infighting among the GOP led several key legislative proposals to go off the rails. Haslam had to torpedo his own limited school voucher bill for fear it would be hijacked by fellow Republicans, and the leaders of the state House and Senate were no longer on speaking terms their respective chambers killed off each other's bills on campaign finance, judicial redistricting and charter schools. Republicans insist the breakdown was a temporary anomaly as they work to regain each other's trust amid often competing interests within the caucuses, between the chambers and with the governor.