Randy McNally is a member of the Tennessee State Senate, representing District 5. He assumed office in 1986. His current term ends on November 3, 2026. McNally is also the Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. He assumed office on January 10, 2017. His current term ends on November 3, 2026. McNally was elected speaker of the Tennessee Senate on January 10, 2017. The speaker also serves as Tennessee's lieutenant governor. He was the second Republican to hold the position since the beginning of the 20th century. The speaker appoints Senate officers such as clerks and the sergeant-at-arms, determines who sits on specific committees, and is the presiding officer of the Senate. McNally was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1944. He earned dual bachelor's degrees in biology and zoology from the University of Memphis in 1967, and graduated from the University of Tennessee's School of Pharmacy in 1969. He worked as a pharmacist for various local pharmacies before joining Methodist Medical Center, where he worked from 1979 until his retirement in 2010. McNally was first elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1978, and was subsequently elected to three more terms. In 1986, McNally won an election to the state Senate for District 5. That same year, McNally assisted the Federal Bureau of Investigation in an undercover mission to expose illegal fundraising activities involving a local charity bingo operation. In 2007, McNally became chair of the body's Finance Committee. He also served as chair of the Education Committee from 2001 to 2004.
