Emotions are high after this week’s election. It seems across the state, seats were flipped from Republican to Democrat on many County Commission and School Boards. Many grassroots candidates couldn’t quite get enough votes to secure a change in leadership in many state positions. It’s easy to be frustrated with some of these outcomes, especially when Republicans at the federal level are not securing our elections or upholding basic America-first principles.
However, there are a few wins across the state that we all need to celebrate. The conservative representation in Nashville has grown and we will all be better for it in this upcoming General Assembly.
In House District 1, Jessica Means won her primary against incumbent Representative John Crawford. In this last session, Crawford voted against setting property values for tax purposes at the value of the house when purchased or refinanced. He voted to remove the rights of Tennesseans to challenge unconstitutional laws without proving harm first, meaning tax payers will have to pay for the harm caused by the unconstitutional laws before being able to question them. Crawford also voted against requiring counties and cities to provide data to the public before annexing. Last year, he ruled against a bill which would prohibit the state from defining which jobs are “essential” and which are not.
According to the financial reports, he is 80% funded by PACs.
During his campaign, he spent $189,162 on TV ads alone, compared to Jessica Means who spent $0 on commercials
In total, Jessica Means spent $64,773.08 and her incumbent opponent, John Crawford, spent $287,158.52.
Those totals do not count PACs, such as the AFC Victory Fund, a PAC whose financial report shows their sole purpose is to run attack ads on conservative candidates, spent $21,747.55 against Jessica Means.
This AFC Victory Fund PAC is a Super PAC, which means it does not disclose who contributes to it. Its stated purpose is to fight against any candidate who opposes school vouchers. The American Federation of Children, based in Dallas, Texas, floods races across the state with attack ads to purposefully lie to voters, in order to persuade them to vote for their favored candidates.
On Thursday, Means won the Republican primary with 4,021 votes (61%) compared to Crawford who received 2,574 (39%).
The people of House District 1 wanted a change. The grassroots effort out-worked the strong financial influence in this race and Jessica Means will now serve the constituents of District 1 as she does not have a Democrat opponent.
District 36 also saw a change in representation as Noah Smith beat incumbent Representative Dennis Powers, Smith earning 8,034 votes (66.97%) and Powers 3,963 votes (33.03%).
Powers was elected to serve in the House in 2010. This year, he voted to support the expansion of the Education Freedom Scholarships, he voted in support of stripping the right to challenge unconstitutional laws from citizens, and he voted as Rep. Crawford did, to oppose more transparent data from local governments before annexation decisions were made.
Noah Smith spent $64,949.81 compared to Dennis Powers, who spent $183,738. A quick glance through both of their campaign contributions and it shows the vast majority of donors are from within Tennessee.
Until you start looking at the PACs who tried to influence this race. Tennesseans for Putting Students First, a PAC partly funded by Sam Walton in Bentonville, Arkansas, spent $23,645.83 on digital advertising and direct mail to support Powers. The AFC Victory Fund, who also attacked Jessica Means, spent $78,400.46 on content directly attacking Noah Smith.
Republicans in District 36 wanted a change after 16 years and they made it clear, their vote will not be bought.
While we saw a change in representation in both District 1 and 36, voters elected to keep the conservative fighter in District 27.
Representative Michele Reneau out spent challenger Tony Hullender according to the financial reports, but in reality, the outside PACs that supported Tony put his collective total well over the incumbent.
According to the state’s financial reports, Reneau spent $114,892 compared to Hullender who spent $65,571. In addition to Hullender’s expenses from his campaign account, the following were spent on this race:
July 27, the Tennesseans for Economic Freedom, Inc PAC spent $7,409.30 on advertising and on July 21, they spent $61,700 on a TV commercial.
The Tennesseans for Economic Freedom PAC is a Super PAC, and therefore only has to report their expenses, not their contributions.
The people of District 27 spoke and re-elected Rep. Reneau with 6030 (58.3%) votes, compared to Hullender’s 4313 (41.7%). Another example of voters who are tired of the games and will not have their votes bought and manipulated by the wealthy.
Having two more conservative representatives in the General Assembly may not sound like it will change much, but it’s the long game we must keep in mind. It’s proof that when good conservative candidates can be supported by constituents, change can happen. When voters pay attention to how their legislators vote, it puts the power of the government back into our hands.
What this election also showed us is that there are people in Tennessee who have connections to financial resources and a motivation to ensure those in power will stay in power. There are people in this state who refuse to allow two opposing candidates to run on their own voting record, and therefore must dump tens of thousands of dollars into campaigns to lie and misrepresent whoever “they” don’t want to win.
The propaganda machine is alive and well in Tennessee. We must continue to sharpen our ability to see through it, and help others do the same. If conservatives can work together, to make sure we’re all educated on the issues and how our legislators vote, the state will not be handed over to those who prefer socialism to liberty. We win if we can stand and work together, if we can collectively support solid candidates, and if, as conservatives, we can prove our votes will not be bought in Tennessee.
Resources:
https://www.federationforchildren.org/
AFC Victory Fund List of Candidates: https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=128241
TN’s Online Campaign Finance Database: https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/public/cpsearch.htm
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The Long Game: Educate, Unite and Win in Tennessee
Emotions are high after this week’s election. It seems across the state, seats were flipped from Republican to Democrat on many County Commission and School Boards. Many grassroots candidates couldn’t quite get enough votes to secure a change in leadership in many state positions. It’s easy to be frustrated with some of these outcomes, especially when Republicans at the federal level are not securing our elections or upholding basic America-first principles.
However, there are a few wins across the state that we all need to celebrate. The conservative representation in Nashville has grown and we will all be better for it in this upcoming General Assembly.
In House District 1, Jessica Means won her primary against incumbent Representative John Crawford. In this last session, Crawford voted against setting property values for tax purposes at the value of the house when purchased or refinanced. He voted to remove the rights of Tennesseans to challenge unconstitutional laws without proving harm first, meaning tax payers will have to pay for the harm caused by the unconstitutional laws before being able to question them. Crawford also voted against requiring counties and cities to provide data to the public before annexing. Last year, he ruled against a bill which would prohibit the state from defining which jobs are “essential” and which are not.
According to the financial reports, he is 80% funded by PACs.
During his campaign, he spent $189,162 on TV ads alone, compared to Jessica Means who spent $0 on commercials
In total, Jessica Means spent $64,773.08 and her incumbent opponent, John Crawford, spent $287,158.52.
Those totals do not count PACs, such as the AFC Victory Fund, a PAC whose financial report shows their sole purpose is to run attack ads on conservative candidates, spent $21,747.55 against Jessica Means.
This AFC Victory Fund PAC is a Super PAC, which means it does not disclose who contributes to it. Its stated purpose is to fight against any candidate who opposes school vouchers. The American Federation of Children, based in Dallas, Texas, floods races across the state with attack ads to purposefully lie to voters, in order to persuade them to vote for their favored candidates.
On Thursday, Means won the Republican primary with 4,021 votes (61%) compared to Crawford who received 2,574 (39%).
The people of House District 1 wanted a change. The grassroots effort out-worked the strong financial influence in this race and Jessica Means will now serve the constituents of District 1 as she does not have a Democrat opponent.
District 36 also saw a change in representation as Noah Smith beat incumbent Representative Dennis Powers, Smith earning 8,034 votes (66.97%) and Powers 3,963 votes (33.03%).
Powers was elected to serve in the House in 2010. This year, he voted to support the expansion of the Education Freedom Scholarships, he voted in support of stripping the right to challenge unconstitutional laws from citizens, and he voted as Rep. Crawford did, to oppose more transparent data from local governments before annexation decisions were made.
Noah Smith spent $64,949.81 compared to Dennis Powers, who spent $183,738. A quick glance through both of their campaign contributions and it shows the vast majority of donors are from within Tennessee.
Until you start looking at the PACs who tried to influence this race. Tennesseans for Putting Students First, a PAC partly funded by Sam Walton in Bentonville, Arkansas, spent $23,645.83 on digital advertising and direct mail to support Powers. The AFC Victory Fund, who also attacked Jessica Means, spent $78,400.46 on content directly attacking Noah Smith.
Republicans in District 36 wanted a change after 16 years and they made it clear, their vote will not be bought.
While we saw a change in representation in both District 1 and 36, voters elected to keep the conservative fighter in District 27.
Representative Michele Reneau out spent challenger Tony Hullender according to the financial reports, but in reality, the outside PACs that supported Tony put his collective total well over the incumbent.
According to the state’s financial reports, Reneau spent $114,892 compared to Hullender who spent $65,571. In addition to Hullender’s expenses from his campaign account, the following were spent on this race:
July 27, the Tennesseans for Economic Freedom, Inc PAC spent $7,409.30 on advertising and on July 21, they spent $61,700 on a TV commercial.
The Tennesseans for Economic Freedom PAC is a Super PAC, and therefore only has to report their expenses, not their contributions.
The people of District 27 spoke and re-elected Rep. Reneau with 6030 (58.3%) votes, compared to Hullender’s 4313 (41.7%). Another example of voters who are tired of the games and will not have their votes bought and manipulated by the wealthy.
Having two more conservative representatives in the General Assembly may not sound like it will change much, but it’s the long game we must keep in mind. It’s proof that when good conservative candidates can be supported by constituents, change can happen. When voters pay attention to how their legislators vote, it puts the power of the government back into our hands.
What this election also showed us is that there are people in Tennessee who have connections to financial resources and a motivation to ensure those in power will stay in power. There are people in this state who refuse to allow two opposing candidates to run on their own voting record, and therefore must dump tens of thousands of dollars into campaigns to lie and misrepresent whoever “they” don’t want to win.
The propaganda machine is alive and well in Tennessee. We must continue to sharpen our ability to see through it, and help others do the same. If conservatives can work together, to make sure we’re all educated on the issues and how our legislators vote, the state will not be handed over to those who prefer socialism to liberty. We win if we can stand and work together, if we can collectively support solid candidates, and if, as conservatives, we can prove our votes will not be bought in Tennessee.
Resources:
https://www.federationforchildren.org/
AFC Victory Fund List of Candidates: https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/search/pub/report_full.htm?reportId=128241
TN’s Online Campaign Finance Database: https://apps.tn.gov/tncamp/public/cpsearch.htm
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Anne Lowery
Anne Lowery