Kernell, a Democrat, was first elected to the Tennessee General Assembly in 1974. He lives in Memphis and represented the 93rd district (a portion of Shelby County).[1] He was Vice Chair of the Government Operations Committee[2] and was a member of the Conservation and Environment Committee, the Parks and Tourism and Wildlife Subcommittee.[3]
Kernell opposed 2004 cutbacks to TennCare,[4] which he criticized for moving the burden of paying for medical care received by the uninsured to local taxpayers.[5]
Kernell was first elected to the State House in 1974. In the November 2008 elections, he defeated Republican candidate and former Homeland Security agent Tim Cook.[6][7][8][9]
Cook was again the Republican nominee in 2010, and Kernell again defeated him, with 6,478 votes to Cook's 4,518.[10]
Kernell's district was redrawn in 2012 by the Republican-controlled legislature, pitting him against fellow Democratic incumbent G. A. Hardaway in the August 2, 2012 Democratic primary. Kernell lost to Hardaway, ending his 38-year tenure. Hardaway won the primary with 2,927 votes (61.0%),[11] and was unopposed in the November 6, 2012 general election, winning with 16,126 votes.[12]
In October 2008, Kernell's son David was indicted by a Tennesseegrand jury in connection with the unauthorized access of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin'sYahoo! Mail account;[14] he was convicted April 30, 2010 on two counts of anticipatory obstruction of justice and unauthorized access to a computer, but was acquitted on a charge of wire fraud.[15] Mike Kernell denied knowing anything about the incident.[16] David died in 2018 after complications from progressive multiple sclerosis.[17]
