succeed Representative John Hicks as chairman of the Fiscal Review committee. Tennessee Senate Riley announced in 1980 that he would seek the Democratic nomination for a seat in the Tennessee Senate from the 22nd district to succeed Halbert Harvill. He won the Democratic nomination against Perkins Freeman and Max Nichols and won in the general election against Republican nominee Alton Boyd. He was reelected in 1984, and 1988, but lost reelection to Carol Rice in 1992. During the 1984 presidential election Riley supported and served on Walter Mondale's Tennessee steering committee during the Democratic presidential primaries. Riley was appointed to serve on the Finance Ways and Means committee, as vice-chairman of the Transportation committee, and as chairman of the Ethics committee in the Tennessee Senate in 1981. In 1983, he was appointed to serve as a member of the Finance Ways and Means committee, vice-chairman of the Fiscal Review committee, and as chairman of the Transportation committee. He was selected to serve as chairman of the Select Committee on Children and Youth in 1987. From 1989 to 1992, he served as the Majority Leader of the Tennessee Senate. On November 9, 1986, fifteen of the twenty-three Democrats in the Tennessee Senate voted to support Riley for the position of Speaker of the Senate, which informally served as the Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee, against incumbent John Shelton Wilder. However, Wilder defeated Riley with eighteen votes, with his support coming from eight Democrats and ten Republicans, against Riley's fifteen votes. Wilder later appointed Joe Nip McKnight to replace Darnell as chairman of the Transportation committee. Tennessee Secretary of State On November 9, 1992, Darnell announced that he would seek the office of Tennessee Secretary of State against incumbent Bryant Millsaps after he had lost reelection to the Tennessee Senate. Darnell won the Democratic nomination against Millsaps on November 19, and was elected as Secretary of State on Tennessee General Assembly on January 13, 1993. Darnell was reelected in 1997, 2001, and 2005. He lost reelected to Republican nominee Tre Hargett in 2009. Death Riley died from cancer in Clarksville, Tennessee, on October 2, 2020, and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery. Electoral history References 1940 births 2020 deaths People from Clarksville, Tennessee Military personnel from Tennessee Austin Peay State University alumni Vanderbilt University Law School alumni Tennessee lawyers Democratic Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Democratic Party Tennessee state senators Secretaries