What a 2 months it has been. I am finally ready to reflect on all that has happened. My intention when I filed to run for this office was to be on the ballot so the 10 year incumbent would not run unopposed. I thought the campaign would help build community for the Robertson County Democratic Party (RCDP) and we would relearn the process to support other Democrats to run for local and state offices in 2 years. My requirements were that the campaign had to be fun and authentic.
The campaign started gaining momentum – with initial fundraising; excitement from the people of Robertson County to have a good candidate running in opposition to the Republican supermajority; the CHALLENGE of being a candidate and randomly meeting a young woman who grew up in Robertson County with experience as a campaign manager. I thought I should really try to win the race which led me to hiring the campaign manager. I went to what I refer to as “candidate boot camp” for 2 weeks. I was told that I could become a good candidate and that if we ran a “formula” campaign, I could win. This campaign came with a stripped down budget of $75,000. I tried to be positive about my ability to raise that amount of money but it didn’t sit well with me.
Throughout the initial 6 weeks getting a campaign off the ground, I still had all of the responsibilities of Outreach for the RCDP. I couldn’t find anyone to take on any of these responsibilities in a meaningful way. If I had had a competitor in the Primary, I would not have been able to work with RCDP, but since I didn’t, RCDP was happy to have me continue to do Outreach as it would be supportive of the campaign. To run a good campaign, which I hired the campaign manager to do, I needed to free myself from RCDP responsibilities which there wasn’t a way to do. I was being squeezed from all sides. Surgeons do not show stress and learn to keep our heads clear and move forward which I did until the end of April. On April 30th it became very clear to me that I could not be authentic and be the “formula” candidate. I felt like I would be wearing a straight-jacket for 6 months. I was not having ANY fun. On May 1, I thought I was ending my campaign. I let my campaign manager go and started telling people at RCDP. I was strongly encouraged to leave my name on the ballot so people would have a Democrat to vote for even if I didn’t campaign.
But what if the BLUE wave hit and I won? Would I be willing to serve in the role as a legislator. The answer was yes. While the TN legislature is a toxic mess, I would at least have white skin and I would do as much as I could to represent the people of Robertson County. So if I am willing to serve, then perhaps I should go back my original plan of a low-key campaign that was authentic and fun. It would primarily be driven by how much time the people in Robertson County wanted to invest in getting rid of the Republican Supermajority and showing up to Vote.
That was my thinking when Tennessee legislature eliminated the last US congressional district that had a Black Congressperson (Memphis is over 50% Black). On the map below, I live in the blue blob at the top to the left of center. Nashville is the circle below that was gerrymandered in 2023 to eliminate a Democratic legislator in the US House. The circle on the bottom left edge is where Memphis is and used to be one district. It is now divided up into 3. Shameful. It has been hard to imagine that I could possibly make any difference in this legislature, BUT with good voter turnout, perhaps the Democrats can gain enough to get rid of the Republican Supermajority.
So I am still a candidate for TN House District 66. As there is no competitor in the August Primary, I still have plenty of time to mount a credible campaign for November General election. My primary issues for Robertson County are strong public education, affordable living and access to affordable healthcare.
The adventure continues. This is truly the hardest thing I have done.
Tamara Unleashed 