Tennessee’s Political Landscape

Democrats make up 24 members of the 99 member in the Tennessee House and 6 members of the 33 members in the Tennessee Senate. Democrats are in the super minority despite making up close to 40% identifying as Democrat.

Data on counties and municipalities.

According to the US Census, 93% of Tennessee is rural. Roughly 70% of Tennessee’s 95 counties have at least half of their population living in rural areas.

Due to gerrymandering, most Tennessee House districts and Tennessee Senate Districts are majority rural districts. And with 70% of Tennessee’s 95 counties having a majority rural population, most local level districts (city councils, town councils, county commissions, school boards, and county judges) are have candidates running in rural districts.

In 2022, 60 seats went unchallenged by Democrats. Even fewer Democrat and progressive candidates run for local office. There isn’t a bench of progressive candidates ready to run for state or even federal office.

Less thank 40% of Tennessee’s registered voters vote on November 8, 2022.

Unlike the extremist Republican supermajority serving in the Tennessee Legislature, Tennesseans want affordable and accessible healthcare (78% support expanding Medicaid), and believe in common sense gun laws (88% support background checks), want abortion is healthcare (80% of Tennesseans believe abortion should be completely legal or legal under some conditions such as rape, incest, and protecting the health of the mother).

Tennessee is 1 of 10 states that has refused to expand Medicaid, turning down $1.2 Billion dollars annually of funds taxpayers have already paid and giving it away to other states. This is why 13 of Tennessee’s rural hospitals have closed. More than half of Tennessee’s hospitals no longer deliver babies. And because of the extreme abortion ban, medical students are choosing medical schools outside of Tennessee for their training.

Tennessee ranks 11th for overall gun violence. In 2022, gun deaths went up 48% and homicides increased 103%. Yet the Republican supermajority in the Tennessee Legislature continues to make guns more accessible and Tennesseans less safe. They even failed to act after the shooting at Covenant Presbyterian School that left 3 students and 3 faculty/staff dead.

Public schools are under attack because Governor Bill Lee and the Republican super majority threaten public school funding with vouchers– an effort that continues to expand across the state due to the political donations and messaging campaigns from Hillsdale College.

The only way to change this bleak picture is to invest in organizing, candidates, and county Democratic Parties in rural areas. Tennesseans deserve a truly representative government.