Rosalind Kurita

Rosalind Kurita is a Tennessee politician who was formerly Speaker pro tempore of the Tennessee State Senate, representing State Senate District 22 (Cheatham, Houston, and Montgomery Counties), centered on Clarksville. In 2005 she unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for the United States Senate seat up for election in 2006.

Kurita (Born Rosalind Culbertson) grew up in Midland, Texas, the daughter of a former leader in the Republican Party. A registered nurse, she received her B.A. from the University of Arkansas. She married in 1972 and has three children. After her children’s births, Kurita created her own small medical marketing business. Kurita began in politics as a county commissioner for Montgomery County.

In 1996, Kurita won a state senate seat by defeating an incumbent Republican senator. She was re-elected twice, in 2000 and 2004. In 2005, Kurita announced her intentions to run for the Democratic Party nomination for the United States Senate to succeed retiring senator Bill Frist. After poor results from her fundraising efforts, Kurita withdrew from the race and endorsed the eventual Democratic nominee, Congressman Harold Ford, Jr.

On January 9, 2007, Kurita was the lone member of the Democratic caucus in the Tennessee Senate to vote together with all 17 Republican members to replace long-serving Democratic Senate Speaker John S. Wilder with the Republican Ron Ramsey. On January 12, 2007, Ramsey named Kurita Speaker pro tempore, replacing Republican State Senator Micheal Williams, who had in the previous legislative session broken with his fellow Republicans to vote in favor of Wilder.

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