In the final week of early voting, the GOP candidate for Tennessee’s new 9th Congressional District has become embroiled in a sexting scandal.
State Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, has acknowledged sending unsolicited nude photos of himself to multiple women as recently as 2021, but he won’t say how many times it happened or with how many people.
“It really doesn’t matter whether it was one or 21, one was too many,” Taylor said. “I’m willing to be held accountable.”
Taylor, 58, has characterized the extramarital sexting as a “youthful indiscretion,” despite being in his 50s at the time.
“My wife and I have worked through that together, and we have moved on. And the frustrating part is that now she has to relive all this again,” Taylor said. “Tennesseans are not interested in the pain that is occurring in my family; they’re more interested in the pain that occurs in their family.”
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsBrent Taylor speaks at a Williamson County GOP rally on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026.
Taylor is running to flip Memphis’ former district red after Republicans redrew the map to favor their party. His opponent, state Rep. Justin. J Pearson, D-Memphis, has condemned Taylor’s behavior.
“Tennessee deserves leaders who respect women,” Pearson posted on X. “This is the type of predatory behavior that needs to be rooted out of our society and politics.”
Taylor appeared at a Williamson County GOP rally Tuesday night alongside other Republicans, including representatives from Minnesota and North Carolina. They stressed the importance of defeating “socialism” by voting red down ballot, although Pearson is running as a Democrat, not a Democratic Socialist.
“The true important thing that Tennesseans need to remember is … what do we want? Do we want confidence, or do we want chaos? Do we want communism, or do we want to have common sense in Congress?” Taylor said.
Early voting runs through Thursday, Oct. 29. Election Day is Nov. 3.
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